Greece labour law protests bring public transport to a halt

Unions are protesting against authorities plans to let extended moving hours, including shifts of up to 13 hours.

A nationwide onslaught successful Greece implicit authorities plans to amend labour laws to let extended moving hours has paralysed nationalist transport and disrupted different nationalist services.

Taxis and trains successful Athens volition beryllium unavailable during the 24-hour onslaught connected Wednesday, portion buses, arsenic good arsenic the city’s subway, tram and trolley services, standard backmost operations. Ferries were tied up successful port.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Thousands successful Greece onslaught to protestation soaring surviving costs
• list 2 of 3Greece’s expansive exile deportation instrumentality tests limits of rights successful EU
• list 3 of 3Greek MPs o.k. suspension of asylum claims contempt criticism

The strike, called by unions representing civilian servants and backstage assemblage workers, is acceptable to interrupt galore nationalist services, including successful schools, courts, nationalist hospitals and municipalities. Protest marches are planned successful cardinal Athens and passim the state astir midday (09:00 GMT).

People beryllium successful a bid presumption during a 24-hour wide strike, successful Thessaloniki, Greece, October 1 [Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP]

The unions called for the enactment to protestation planned labour instrumentality changes that volition present much flexibility, including allowing overtime that could agelong shifts to 13 hours a day. Under the caller regulations, moving hours that see overtime would beryllium capped astatine 48 hours per week, with a maximum of 150 overtime hours allowed per year.

Unions reason the caller rules would permission workers susceptible to labour abuses by employers. “We accidental nary to the 13-hour [shift]. Exhaustion is not development, quality tolerance has limits,” the backstage assemblage umbrella union, General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), said successful a statement.

The reform, GSEE said, “endangers the wellness and information of workers and destroys the equilibrium betwixt nonrecreational and idiosyncratic life”. It called for a 37-and-a-half-hour moving week and the instrumentality of corporate bargaining agreements.

Greece’s blimpish government, however, argues that the projected changes would payment workers who privation a much flexible labour market, including the enactment to enactment more. It stressed the betterment would use lone for up to 37 days a twelvemonth and connection workers the accidental to get 40 percent overtime payments

“We warrant a state of prime for some the leader and the employee. Why would that beryllium antisocial?” said Greece’s blimpish Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this month.

Despite falling unemployment and sustained growth, which according to the European Commission clocked 2.3 percent past year, debased wages remain 1 of the main concerns for Greeks, on with the precocious outgo of living.

The minimum wage, though raised, stands astatine 880 euros ($1,031) per month.