/Reuters Agency
Greek ships remained in port and train services were suspended as workers went on strike. This was to protest against the proposed labor reforms, which include the extension of the working day in the private sector.
The demonstration, the second this month called by Greece’s main public and private sector unions, GSEE and Adedy, was scheduled to coincide with this week’s vote on the reforms suggested by the conservative government.
Thousands of striking workers, including teachers, hospital doctors and journalists, gathered in central Athens and marched towards parliament as lawmakers debated the bill. Demonstrations were planned in the country’s major cities.
The bill allows private sector employers to request up to 13 hours of work per day from their staff, compared to the current eight hours. It also gives them greater flexibility in short-term hiring and changes the rules on the distribution of annual leave.
According to the Labor Minister, the government claims the bill creates a more effective and flexible labor market, allowing employees to work a four-day week. It also protects workers from being fired if they refuse to work overtime and expands their benefits.
Unions say the measure harms workers’ rights and strips them of their bargaining power in a country where undeclared work exists and average wages remain low compared to other European Union countries, despite wage increases and falling unemployment following a debilitating debt crisis between 2009 and 2018.
According to Eurostat data, the purchasing power of Greeks is among the lowest in the European Union. The country also has the highest proportion of employees working more than 45 hours a week within the bloc, according to the EU’s statistical agency.
Opposition parties demanded the bill be withdrawn. “The 13-hour shift cannot become a reality. It is paid slavery,” said Effie Achstsioglou, a lawmaker from the small New Left party, in parliament.
