The attitude of the opposition during the debate and the passing of the new labor bill – which is now the law of the state – was described by the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, in an interview on “OPEN” television as oxymorous.

Asked how the opposition finally voted for the bill, despite the objections it raised, the minister commented: “For 10 days, they talked about the “working middle ages”, “abolition of the 8-hour shift”, “abolition of the five-day shift” and ended up voting for half the articles of the bill. Because I accept that there may be a political disagreement about some articles, but you cannot for 10 days say take it back, withdraw it, etc. and suddenly the time of voting and revelation comes, I would say, because the New Democracy asked for a roll-call vote on all the articles”.

Mrs. Kerameos referred to provisions beneficial to workers, such as, for example, the possibility of four-day work, the tax-free, non-forgivable and non-disposal allowance of parental leave, as well as the tightening of provisions on health and safety at work, clarifying that, if 13-hour work had indeed been passed, “today, now that the law has been passed and published, all the contracts of the country to have become 13 hours”. The minister clarified that before there was the possibility for 13-hour work, but in two companies, pointing out that the bill strengthened the status for the employee, providing that he can refuse overtime work, without this leading to dismissal or adverse discrimination.

As Ms. Kerameos noted, any violations will be checked by the Labor Inspectorate, which has increased its human resources, as well as controls, while imposing larger fines, which last year reached 50 million euros.

The Minister of Labor paralleled the reactions to the “alleged 13-hour shift” with those that occurred last year regarding the emergency shift. “There was a provision that had come for the emergency shift in continuous operation factories, that is, factories that work continuously. If you suddenly landed in Greece from somewhere and read the headlines, you would have the feeling that we all work – every day – Monday to Saturday. A year later, let’s see what this arrangement has become? It has been applied to 0.1% of the country’s businesses. Well, the employee could just as well say no. This is practical proof” she added.

Asked to comment on foreign press reports that speak of 13-hour work, Ms. Kerameos replied: “I will bring you, 15 months ago, a packet of foreign reports that said that Greece is moving to 6-day work. The headline was that in all the foreign publications. Did Greece go into 6-day labor? No, that’s the answer.”

The minister also spoke about the possibility given by the new law for four-day work all year round, while, until now, one could only apply it for one semester, adding that it is a very important provision that was not discussed at all, “because the opposition chose, for petty political reasons, to focus on only one of the 97 provisions”.

Afterwards, Mrs. Kerameos stated that the Digital Labor Card is a very useful tool for the labor market, as almost 2 million workers are protected.

In fact, he added that, “this year, we have 1.8 million overtime hours more than last year. Those overtimes were somewhere before. Well, the Card has a catalytic role, firstly, in protecting workers. It comes in and ensures that actual working time is recorded and that workers are paid for that time, and secondly, it also protects healthy competition. In fact, on November 3, 2025, the Card will be extended to new sectors: to all energy, to all wholesale trade, to financial services.”

Among other things, the minister analyzed the provision of the law which prohibits the reduction of salaries, after the implementation of the Digital Work Card.

Regarding the amendment for the monument of the Unknown Soldier, he noted: “This is a measure that is introduced, to shield and highlight the monument more, to take care of its cleanliness, to take care of the protection of the monument, as well as public order”, reminding that the same applies to monuments of other countries with very high symbolism. In this context, he indicated two: “The Arc de Triomphe in France, in Paris. It is a monument with a very high symbolism. Any assembly, political demonstration, etc. is protected and prohibited. The Cenotaph in London, England respectively. That a century ago, not now.”

Finally, commenting on the dinner in the Parthenon Sculpture Hall of the British Museum, Mrs. Kerameos characterized it as inappropriate and provocative and emphasized: “Ms. Mendoni and the government as a whole have been fighting for years, in order to get as close as possible to the final goal, which is precisely to return these very important monuments to our homeland, and this effort will continue.”