Widespread strikes in Greece brought public transport and other services to a halt Thursday as the country’s largest labor unions protested employment reforms they argue will make flexible workplace changes introduced during the pandemic more permanent.
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The Labor Ministry’s omnibus bill was approved in principle during a discussion at committee level in Parliament on Wednesday.
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The rapid digitization of the economy poses enormous challenges for workers, businesses and the state, with employee skills becoming outdated within 2.5 to five years.
Greece’s main civil servants union ADEDY called a 24-hour strike on June 3 during a meeting on Wednesday to protest over planned labor legislation.
This period is particularly important for the outlook of employment in Greece, as the government measures may have laid out a safety net for about 600,000 private sector workers, but as the measures reach their end and the economy slowly reverts to normality the risk of more company shutdowns and staff layoffs looms larger.
The new labor bill is introducing overtime in part-time employment too under certain conditions, as the published text has generated strong reactions not only due to the emblematic clauses about the flexible eight-hour shift, but also for a series of clauses that were at first overlooked.
The Labor Ministry bill that Minister Kostis Hatzidakis presented on Wednesday provides for significant changes to individual and collective labor legislation.
Greece’s conservative government on Wednesday outlined plans to overhaul “antiquated” labor laws by liberalising working hours, a move criticised by the left-wing opposition and unions who fear the changes will undermine worker rights.
The so-called flexible eight-hour workday will be implemented with two safety clauses in case there is no agreement with the union of a company or there is no union at all.
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A few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and almost two centuries after the French Revolution (1789) – when the Right-Left political distinction was historically established – Norberto Bobbio attempted to define the dividing line between the two political wings in his book “Right and Left.”
Digital transformation is a central development strategy for eight out of every 10 companies active in research and development in Greece, while six in 10 plan to continue using telework after the pandemic, according to a survey.
The government will start distributing self-administered coronavirus tests to a wider range of employees in the public and private sector for whom testing for Covid-19 is mandatory as of Monday.
Waiters, hosts, cooks and bartenders, from all over Greece and Cyprus, can book interviews with restaurants and bars that suit their needs.
The World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual Economic Impact Report (EIR) noted on Friday that the dramatic collapse of the Greek tourism sector has wiped out 23 billion euros from the country’s economy and cost tens of thousands of jobs.
The State will request the return of any aid paid during the pandemic if judicial authorities determine that it was claimed illegally, Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Thursday, commenting on the ongoing investigation into the financial dealings of a minor television host.
A so-called integrity counselor for civil servants to turn to in the event of incidents such as abuse of power, violation of the law, antisocial behavior and sexual harassment is included in a new Interior Ministry bill submitted to Parliament on Monday that introduces changes to the internal control system of the public sector and local authorities.
