Greece was paralyzed again this Tuesday due to a strike of the public sector, and above all transportthe second great mobilization that has been organized in the last two weeks against the extension of the working day up to 13 hours a day.
Athens dawned no metro services or commuter trainssince public transport employees have decided to join the strike.
Los buses and trams of the city circulate in a reduced hours between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., while the metro runs routes only during some hours in the morning and midday to facilitate the transfer of people to the demonstrations called in the center of the capital.
Passenger ship itineraries throughout the country have also been affected as Several seafarers’ unions have called a 24-hour strikewhile the intercity train service will remain interrupted throughout Greece.
“The strike of October 14 is a milestone in the fight for dignity, free time and a life with rights,” ADEDY, the main public sector union in Greece, said in a statement that it called the strike to demand the conservative government withdraw a bill that extends the working day to a maximum of 13 hours for the same worker.
Although he main private sector union, GSEE, has not joined the strike As occurred in the general strike of last October 1, it has called on workers in the sector “to participate massively” in the demonstrations called in the center of the capital and other Greek cities.
13 hours a day 37 days a year
The bill, which will be voted on tomorrow, Wednesday, allows an employer to ask workers work up to 13 hours a day, for what they will receive a 40% bonus for extra hours worked.
The Prime Minister’s Government, Kyriakos mitsotakiswhose party, the conservative New Democracy, has an absolute majority in Parliament, highlights that, despite the enlargement, The maximum limit of 48 hours per week and 150 overtime hours per year is maintained.
In that sense, the Greek Minister of Labor, Niki Kerameoshas pointed out that the 13 hours a day could be legally applied 37 days a year.
The Executive qualifies the bill as a “modernization” and “adaptation to current labor and business needs.”
For their part, the unions and the left-wing opposition have accused the Government of doing take the country back to a “medieval era” regarding labor rights.