Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis has lashed out at leftist opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis for claiming that Greece had become "an international embarrassment" for introducing a six-day workweek.
The statement has sparked controversy and debate across the political spectrum.
In response, Mr. Marinakis accused the leftist Syriza leader of lying in his criticism of the new work scheme.
"As an opposition leader, you have two choices: either you read the data, look for arguments, and conduct a well-founded, tough opposition, or you compile various videos and recycle falsehoods. Kasselakis has chosen the latter,” he said. “We, consciously, will always tell you the truth."
Mr. Marinakis then presented official data from the ERGANI system for the first half of the month.
He wrote in a social media post: "There are 326,482 employers in the country employing workers under dependent employment relationships, with 382,775 branches.
How many applied for the use of the emergency shift work? A total of 690 businesses for 1,671 branches, which means only 0.44% of the country's businesses have applied. Of the 1,671 branches that applied, only 291 meet the legal requirements, such as continuous operation 24/7 with rotating shifts or 24-hour operation 5 or 6 days a week with rotating shifts. This is just 0.076% of the total branches.
"In other words, this supposed six-day workweek, which is an emergency shift, applies to fewer than 1 in 1,000 businesses in the country. And one last thing: If Mr. Kasselakis wants, there are many more videos recognizing the country's progress. If he can't find them, we can send them to him," Mr. Marinakis said.
Mr. Kasselakis's remarks have been part of Syriza’s broader criticism of the government's labour policies, which the leftist leader has billed both regressive and harmful to workers.
The government insists the measures are necessary for economic growth and competitiveness.