Greece labour law protests bring public transport to a halt

Public transportation was hampered by a nationwide strike in Greece over government plans to change labor laws to allow extended working hours.

While buses, the city’s subway, tram, and trolley services are slowed down, Athens’ taxi and train services will not be operational during the 24-hour strike on Wednesday. In the port, flowers were tied up.

Numerous public services, including those in schools, courts, public hospitals, and municipalities, are expected to be affected by the strike, which unions have called. Around midday (09:00 GMT), protest marches are planned in central Athens and throughout the entire country.

The unions demanded the action in response to proposed changes to the labor laws that would increase flexibility, including allowing overtime that could make shifts longer to 13 hours per day. Working hours that include overtime would be capped at 48 hours per week under the new regulations, with a maximum of 150 overtime hours per year.

According to unions, the new regulations would make workers vulnerable to employer labor abuses. “We say no to the 13-hour]shift]. The General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), a branch of the private sector umbrella organization, stated in a statement that “human tolerance has limits” rather than “exhaustion”.

According to GSEE, the reform “zeroes the balance between professional and personal life” and puts people at risk for their health and safety. It demanded the return of collective bargaining agreements and a 37-and-a-half-hour working week.

The conservative government of Greece claims that workers who want a more flexible labor market and the option to work more would gain from the proposed changes. The reform, which would only be implemented for up to 37 days a year, would also give employees the opportunity to receive 40% overtime pay.

We give the employer and the employee the option to choose. What makes that antisocial, exactly? Greeks’ conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this month.

Low wages, along with the high cost of living, remain one of the main concerns for Greeks despite the decline in unemployment and continued growth, which the European Commission reported was 2.3% last year.