The Prime Minister appeared as a modern version of Marie Antoinette at the Ministry of Labour. He acknowledged that workers are asking for bread and he suggested “cake”.
What else can one assume when one hears Mr Mitsotakis promising to tackle youth unemployment by keeping pensioners in work until old age because of their starvation pensions. That he will tackle youth and women’s unemployment, not by reducing the working hours of those who are already working, but by increasing their working hours to 9 to 13 hours a day on the basis of previous laws. In particular, the recent circular that takes out the break and preparation of workers from “productive time” work, gives additional unpaid time for the employers. Effectively an employee will work 9 to 10.30 hours but will be paid for 8. And despite all this misery, the Prime Minister has the audacity to call it progress, claiming that it will raise the income of workers.
What Mitsotakis was actually sincere about was that he confessed that he came to the Ministry of Labour to announce the implementation of the work e-card based on the needs of big employers. This means taking off flexibility and fragmenting workers’ rights. The despicable circular on the digital working card paves the way in this direction.
Mr Mitsotakis has once again shown us by his words that he is ignoring the demands of hundreds of trade unions, thousands of workers and pensioners for substantial increases in wages and pensions. He ignores the demands for the restoration of the compulsory application of Collective Agreements, the restoration of three-year benefit, for measures to protect health and safety at work.
He has shown once again that he is carrying out the orders of the employers, the big business groups. In short, Mitsotakis sent a message to the bosses that the government and the new leadership of the Ministry of Labour will proceed with the imposition of 6 days work week, the increase of retirement limits, the increase of unpaid work and unpaid overtime.
In fact, at the subsequent meeting between representatives of the Ministry and the GSEE-ETUC member in Greece- the Labor Minister no demand was made to withdraw the despicable circular immediately, but only to hold seminars on its implementation!
Only the representative of PAME raised this issue and demanded the withdrawal of the measure.
We call on all the unions, the Regional Trade Union Centres and the Federations to continue with even greater militancy the struggle to prevent the 6-day work week and unpaid work from being implemented anywhere, in any place.
Already there are unions and workplaces that have succeeded in this, they have turned these anti-worker laws into blank letters.
5.7.24
5.7.24 On The Greek Government’s attempt to impose 6day working week
