Transport systems, hospitals and schools hit, as workers say laws kill hopes of work-life balance
Transport systems, hospitals and schools hit, as workers say laws kill hopes of work-life balance
A general strike has paralysed Greece as unions step up industrial action against labour laws introducing a 13-hour work day in a country that already puts in some of the longest hours in Europe.
The 24-hour strike brought mass disruption to services across the country on Wednesday as thousands of workers in the public and private sector stopped work and took to the streets.
In both Athens and Thessaloniki, the country’s second biggest city, transport systems were halted, while hospital staff, teachers and other civil servants stopped working. The seas around the Greek capital were vessel-free as crews, heeding union calls, kept ferries in ports.
The pro-business government of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has faced growing opposition over the proposed changes, with workers contending they not only ride roughshod over their rights but kill off any hopes for work-life balance.
The 13-hour day proposal is expected to be passed into law this month. The change would allow employees to clock in 13 hours, effectively extending their presence in the work place by up to five hours.
Standing in Syntagma Square in Athens, Makis Kontogiorgos, a trade unionist from a major technology company, said: “Greeks are already forced to survive on some of the lowest wages in Europe and now they’re asking us to effectively work most of the day.
