Thousands of people protest again in Greece against the 13-hour workday

Thousands of people took to the streets this Tuesday in Athens and other Greek cities as part of a public sector strike that has paralyzed the country, the second major mobilization in the last two weeks against a bill that aims to extend the working day to a maximum of 13 hours a day. The 24-hour strike, called by Greece's main public sector union, ADEDY, has left the entire country without intercity train routes this Tuesday, while passenger ship travel is also suspended, as the sailors' unions have joined the strike. Athens woke up today without metro or suburban train services, although the workers of the first means decided to carry out itineraries for some hours in the morning and at noon to facilitate the transfer of people for the demonstrations convened.

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Around 10,000 people, according to the Police and ADEDY, gathered today in front of the Hellenic Parliament, located in the heart of the capital, where the parliamentary debate on the bill began this Tuesday, prior to its vote and approval tomorrow, Wednesday. "Withdraw the 1 p.m. project - Working conditions will not go back 150 years" and "No to 1 p.m. slavery," could be read on some of the banners held by the protesters. "This law is just one part of a specific policy that destroys collective labor rights," Spiros Vettas, a secondary education teacher, told EFE during the protest in Athens. "We have an increase in violence and criminality in schools that we now expect to increase even more because parents will not be able to literally see their children with this law," he added. According to the teacher, the extension of the working day affects not only private sector workers but also, indirectly, a series of public officials. "If the students' parents work 13 hours, someone will have to take care of the children, so there may be consequences in the future in our schedule as well," Vettas pointed out.

Although the reform presented by the government of the Greek Prime Minister, the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis, refers to the working hours of private sector workers, the main union of this sector in the country, GSEE, did not join the strike called by ADEDY.

"It is incomprehensible that GSEE has not also called a strike on an issue that mainly affects the private sector," Yorgos Petropoulos, a member of the Executive Committee of ADEDY, told EFE. "We took to the streets today because we show solidarity, as we have friends and family who work in the private sector, but the non-call for a strike by GSEE did not help the protest to be massive," added the union leader. The bill, which is expected to be approved this Wednesday thanks to the absolute majority held in Parliament by Mitsotakis' ruling party, the conservative New Democracy, allows an employer to request to work up to 13 hours a day in exchange for a 40% bonus per overtime hour worked. Mitsotakis' government maintains that, despite this extension, the maximum limit of 48 hours per week and 150 extra hours per year is maintained. In that sense, Greek Labor Minister Niki Kerameos has pointed out that the 13-hour days could legally be applied on a maximum of 37 days a year. The Executive qualifies the bill as a "modernization" and "adaptation to current labor and business needs", while the unions and the left-wing opposition accuse the Government of taking the country back to a "medieval era" in terms of labor rights.