N. Iliopoulos: Abolition of 8 hours, reduction of wages, support of employer arbitrariness, the ND's N / s

For the deconstruction of labour relations and the flexibilisation of the labour market with the Hatzidakis bill, accuses the government press spokesman of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Nassos Iliopoulos.

Speaking to the radio station «Sto Kokkino 105.5», Mr. Iliopoulos said that the main points of the ND bill are «abolition of the eight-hour week, unpaid overtime which means a reduction in wages and the full prevalence of individual contracts over collective contracts». He said that the government wants to make the labour market more flexible «in the traditional logic of the New Democracy that flexibility and poorly paid work can become a competitive advantage for the country». He commented that the Southwest was saying the same thing in 2012 «when then overnight collective agreements were abolished, the minimum wage was reduced by 23% and a sub-minimum wage of minus 32% for young people under 25 was introduced». «The argument even then was that we would contain unemployment and reduce the recession. The result was the exact opposite, we experienced the highest unemployment and the worst recession in the years of the crisis, with an unemployment rate of more than 50% for young people,» he noted.

The spokesman of SYRIZA stressed that this policy does not only affect workers, but a very large part of society, as the reduction in wages will lead to a reduction in demand, directly affecting small and medium-sized enterprises. He added that the bill «comes together with the dismantling of the control mechanisms», noting that «from the first day, the Southwest has shown that it wants to return to the “abata” of employer lawlessness, that backs employers who steal their workers» wages". In this regard, he stressed that «one of the first moves of the government when it took office was to reduce the fines of the labour inspectorate. In 2017, under the SYRIZA government, a large systemic bank paid a fine of 1.6 million euros for illegal overtime of more than 100 employees. Today the fine for the same violation would be just 109,000 euros.».

On the front of pandemic, speaking last night on the television station «ITV Ioannina», Mr. Iliopoulos commented that «it was just last year at this time when Mr. Mitsotakis declared that we have defeated the coronavirus», but «instead of facing this pandemic with strategic thinking, looking to the future, Mr. Mitsotakis was facing it with a strategy of three months». He accused the Prime Minister that «never really believed in strengthening the public health system, which is why we have 1,680 fewer permanent employees in the NHS today than last year» and that «it has never addressed dispersal in the main hotspots of contagion, workplaces and transport». As he argued, the result of this is «to have one of the most prolonged and failed lockdowns in Europe, as since October to date we have suffered more than 10,800 deaths of our fellow citizens».

The SYRIZA press spokesman said (on the radio station Sto Kokkino) that today a number of activities must indeed be opened, but this must be done with the appropriate measures, both sanitary and financial. Specifically, he noted: «The immediate regulation of the private debt of companies by writing off part of it, which also concerns the tourism sector, the State to support the insurance contributions of the affected sectors for six months -with the employer's commitment that there will be no redundancies and no change in employment relations; and for the government to proceed with the prescription of molecular tests but also in the requisition of private health units to decompress public hospitals.».

Regarding the issue of the Parliament's vote on the memorandum of understanding with North Macedonia, he said that «one of the reasons why the Southwest is not opening the Parliament normally - at a time when they are resuming so many other activities - is because want to avoid being confronted with the vulgar lies they told about the Prespa Agreement.». «They do not want to highlight their complicity at that time with neo-Nazis and the far-right conspiracy, they want to avoid asking for an “apology” not to SYRIZA but to the society itself,» Mr: «It is important that today respect and honour the Prespa Agreement, but this “apology” they will ask for in Parliament and they will ask for it every day from the citizens they have deceived».