People participate in a demonstration in Athens, Greece, on Sept. 24, 2019. Greek labor unions staged a 24-hour nationwide strike on Tuesday protesting against a development bill tabled in parliament. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
ATHENS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Greek labor unions staged a 24-hour nationwide strike on Tuesday protesting against a development bill tabled in parliament.
Meanwhile, the government reiterated its commitment to sweeping growth-enhancing reforms to build a healthier economy in the post-bailout era.
Strikers hit the streets of Athens as ships remained docked at ports, and buses and subway services were disrupted by work stoppages.
Bank employees, teachers in public schools, medical personnel in public hospitals and journalists walked off the job in the first major strike action staged since a new conservative government took office last July.
The strike was called by the civil servants' umbrella union ADEDY and other labor unions that oppose provisions of the bill regarding labor issues.
Protesters claim that amendments concerning the functioning of labor unions and procedures to call a strike harm workers' rights. They also oppose plans to allow the non-implementation of collective labor agreements under certain conditions.
In an emailed press statement issued by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' office on Monday, the government, on the other hand, stressed that reforms are necessary to boost growth rates and attract investments.
According to the government, the new bill will, among others, simplify investment licensing procedures, facilitate the operation of business parks and modernize 5G-related legislation.
Regarding the labor reforms, the government explained that the bill "introduces opt-outs from sectoral collective agreements and creates a public registry for worker and employer organizations that attests capacity and representativeness."
During the ten-year debt crisis and the bailout era, which ended in August 2018, Greece had been gripped numerous times by strikes and protests against austerity measures and reforms.
At the peak of the crisis, there were tens of thousands of people on the streets, but gradually the number of protesters had decreased, prompting questions about the functioning of the country's labor unions.
