- Days of up to thirteen hours per day and six working weeks, that is, up to 78 hours. These are the maximum working hours that the Greek Government has legalised within the last labour reform. The measure promoted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was approved last Friday in the Greek Parliament, and among the mechanisms for increasing maximum working hours, the Government considers it legal for a person to have two full-time contracts at the same time, that is, two salaried jobs with two employers and with a derisory limit of up to thirteen hours of work.
Employers will therefore be able to impose on workers a sixth day of work so that they can go to work on Saturday or Sunday. Furthermore, depending on "production needs", companies may at the last moment modify workers' schedules and timetables, only 24 hours in advance of the worker's notice.
In this respect, the reform also seeks to consolidate the "guards" contracts. In the case of workers who are considered as guards, it is intended to legalise the absence of fixed hours and give the employer the ability to decide on their work schedule on time. In such cases, the period of mandatory notification shall also be ridiculous: Schedules and schedules may be communicated to staff 24 hours in advance.
If this is not enough, the labor reform also provides for the facilitation of layoffs: if you have had an employer’s first contract, the government wants to make legal the dismissal of a worker without justified cause and without compensation. On the other hand, the protest blockades carried out by the strikers aim to allow for strong repression: The reform provides for sanctions of up to EUR 5,000.
In response, they have already taken to the streets in Greece. Last Thursday, protests against labor reform began in major cities: Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Larisa, etc. They went on strike in sectors such as transport, health and education.