Church under fire over ‘medieval’ labor terms
Labor unions yesterday accused the Church of Greece of trying to impose «medieval labor conditions» on workers at its official radio station, and lying as to the voluntary nature of their employment. Greece’s largest journalists’ union, ESIEA, and the radio technicians’ union (ETER) said the Church of Greece Radio Station «systematically refuses to honor» the collective work contracts it signed as a member of the association of private radio station owners. «We will not allow a new medieval spirit to affect labor relations, and we will stand by employees who are struggling for… human work conditions,» a joint statement said. The unions said it was «absolutely inaccurate» for the Church to argue that its employees are volunteers, adding that Labor Ministry inspectors have fined the station a total of 22,000 euros since late January for labor law offenses.