THE GUARDIAN: Critics claim employment law reforms will abolish eight-hour day and are ‘Thatcherite policies on steroids’
Greece is set for the biggest shake-up of working life in decades after its pro-business government sought to brand parliament’s passage of controversial labour laws as a fresh start for a nation once at the centre of Europe’s financial crisis.
The passage of legislation described as antediluvian by opponents and positively life-changing by supporters came within hours of the EU’s top executive arriving in Athens on Thursday to endorse a post-pandemic recovery plan for the country.
“Today I am very happy to announce that the commission has given the green light for Greece’s national recovery plan,” the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a speech at Athens’s ancient agora as the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, stood next to her. “This plan … belongs to the Greek people and will transform the Greek economy.”
Dubbed Greece 2.0, the scheme foresees €30.5bn (£26bn) in grants and loans being unlocked to support 175 critical investments in areas ranging from the environment to digital reform. » | Helena Smith in Athens | Thursday, June 17, 2021
