13 hour workday passed in Greece’s parliament
There is a news coming from the European country Greece, which has heated up the debate about employees and labor rights around the world. The Parliament there has approved a new labor law, which allows employees to work up to 13 hours a day. As soon as this law was passed, there was an uproar in the entire country. Employees and labor organizations have come out on the streets. He says that this decision will take him back decades and destroy his family life. On the other hand, the government is calling it a necessity for the ‘modern’ working world. This law has divided the entire country into two factions, where on one side are the arguments of the government and on the other side are the lives and rights of the employees.
13 hours work, 40% more salary
The ruling ‘New Democracy’ party led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis strongly defended the bill in parliament. The government says that this system will be completely voluntary. That is, no employee will be forced to work for 13 hours. The government has also set some limits on this. This rule will be applicable only for 37 days in a year.
The government has also made an attractive proposal for this. Employees who work these extra hours will be paid 40 percent more. The government has given another big guarantee. According to Labor Minister Niki Kerameus, if an employee refuses to work extra hours, the company cannot fire him.
The Labor Minister argued that this reform would bring Greece closer to European labor standards. He says that the average weekly work in Europe should not exceed 48 hours, and this law is a step in that direction. The government is presenting it as a system that will provide flexibility to companies and an opportunity for employees to earn additional income. But neither the opposition nor the employees are ready to accept these arguments of the government.
people took to the streets
Contrary to the claims of the government, the opposition and labor organizations have termed this law as an ‘attack on the rights of workers’. For them, this law is not ‘voluntary’ but a new and legal way of ‘exploitation’. The main opposition Pasok party called it a “return to a backward era” when workers’ working hours were not fixed. At the same time, another party ‘Syriza’ refrained from taking part in this controversial voting process.
The sharpest reaction has come from big unions like ADEDY. The union has warned that this law will destroy the concept of 8-hour workday, which workers around the world had achieved after long battles and sacrifices. Organizations fear that after working 13 hours, employees will have no time left for their social and family life. This will only increase fatigue and have a negative impact on mental health.
There has been a nationwide strike twice across the country against this law. The impact of these strikes was also tremendous. In big cities of Greece like Athens and Thessaloniki, public transport was jammed and work in government offices came to a halt. Thousands of people took to the streets carrying banners and demanded immediate withdrawal of this law.
Greece’s workers worried
It is noteworthy that this concern and anger of Greek employees has not arisen suddenly. This controversial reform has come just after the decision last year when the government had implemented a six-day workweek in some industries of the country. First permission to work 6 days in a week and now there is a law to work 13 hours a day. These two big decisions have put labor organizations in deep doubt.
The unions clearly allege that the government is opening the way for employees to do additional work under the guise of increasing economic productivity. He says that when unemployment is already an issue, it is not logical to increase the burden on the existing employees. There is huge resentment among the general public regarding this law. People believe that this is not a reform, rather this step will only promote exhaustion and inequality in the country.