Thousands of Greeks took to the streets of Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklio and other major cities on the day of the general strike to protest the labor bill enforcing a 13-hour working day and a 6-day week.
With banners and slogans they rallied against the bill, demanded higher wages and salaries to help them make end meet at the end of each month, a lower cost of living.
Many urged also the conservative Mitsotakis government to resign or call for early elections.
The rallies and the 24-hour strike that paralyzed the country are organized by the public and private unions umbrellas ADEDY and GSEE.
Banner: “The 13h bill brings us back to Middle Ages.”
GSEE said in a statement, its main demands are the withdrawal of the package of measures for the arrangement of working hours, which, as it claims, “constitutes a gift to specific employer interests.” “We say no to the 13-hour workday. Exhaustion is not development, human endurance has limits. We say no to the division of leisure time,” emphasized the GSEE.
While the 13-hour working day is not mandatory, workers and employees fear that they won’t be able to escape the exhausting working conditions once they will demanded by the employers.
Unions demand an 7-hour work, 5 days per week.
Greeks have been extremely frustrated from the current political and financial situation and in latest polls they consider at 70% the government as “corrupt” and “covering up” scandals.
Of especially significance was the protesters’ applaud to Panos Ruci, the father of a 22-year-old victim Dennis at the Tempi train crash. Ruci has been on hunger strike for 17th day outside the Parliament, demanding Justice for his child.
Ο κόσμος της #απεργίας περνά μπροστά από τον Πάνο Ρούτσι, φωνάζει συνθήματα υποστήριξης και χειροκροτά https://t.co/uOv0hZW64w pic.twitter.com/wz1sfYKU9M
— Η ΑΥΓΗ (@AvgiOnline) October 1, 2025
The strike paralyzed the public sector and large parts of the private sector, disrupting transportation as workers joined with work stoppages and 24h strikes – Details HERE.
The rallies ended peacefully short before 3 o’ clock in the afternoon.
Protesters called for a new mobilization in due time.
