Greek civil servants lose their ‘computer holiday’

Greek civil servants used to get six days extra holiday a year for using computers.

Sadly, computer leave is now over for Greek bureaucrats.

The “computer holiday” was “an anachronism” said Greek government minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Greek TV on Friday, as he abolished the privilege.

Greek government spending cuts have brought the end of the measure introduced in 1989 when it was felt that using computers was an extra hardship for workers who should be recompensed. Unions have promised to fight back.

“According to the European regulation, those using a computer should take a 15-minute break every two hours,” the general secretary Ermolaos Kasses said, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. “It is not easy to have all those breaks during the day, so it was decided back then that it should be given as a day off every two months.”

The PCS Union in the UK – which represents many civil servants – told Channel 4 News that no UK workers had ever been given extra holiday for having to use computers – to their knowledge.

Richard Simcox, PCS spokesman, said that the idea was interesting, but “would never happen here, departments are already cutting time off and privileges are in the firing line.”

The UK’s independent Health and Safety Executive does however highlight the hazards faced by computer users: “computer workstations or equipment can be associated with neck, shoulder, back or arm pain, as well as with fatigue and eyestrain,” their site warns.

And they do recommend breaks – though not necessarily six-day holidays.

“Whenever possible, jobs at display screens should be designed to consist of a mix of screen-based and non screen-based work to prevent fatigue and to vary visual and mental demands. Where the job unavoidably contains spells of intensive display screen work, these should be broken up by periods of non-intensive, non-display screen work.

“Short, frequent breaks are more satisfactory than occasional, longer breaks: e.g., a 5-10 minute break after 50-60 minutes.”