- cross-posted to:
- world@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- world@lemmy.world
Transport systems, hospitals and schools hit, as workers say laws kill hopes of work-life balance
A general strike has paralysed Greece as unions step up industrial action against labour laws introducing a 13-hour work day in a country that already puts in some of the longest hours in Europe.
The 24-hour strike brought mass disruption to services across the country on Wednesday as thousands of workers in the public and private sector stopped work and took to the streets.
In both Athens and Thessaloniki, the country’s second biggest city, transport systems were halted, while hospital staff, teachers and other civil servants stopped working. The seas around the Greek capital were vessel-free as crews, heeding union calls, kept ferries in ports.
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Wow, 13-hour work days sounds completely insane
As an American, I’ve worked those shifts. They suck more than you know
I have previously worked a job where the work week alternated between three and four 12 hour shifts (that is, I’d work 36 hours this week, then 48 the next, then 36, etc.). It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize those numbers didn’t add up; I don’t recall how that was reconciled. The shifts were long, but so were the weekends. There were many problems with that job, but I do miss the schedule.
I work a 4x10 now. I’d never voluntarily go back to a 5x8, but it’s surprisingly challenging to find employers who are okay with my preferred schedule, not that I’ve looked in a while (I like my current job for the most part).
Ya but Greece is wanting 13 hours, 5 days a week, forever. Not the same thing. Even more so when Greece wealth inequality is just as bad as anywhere else.
Sure, sorry. I didn’t mean to defend that, just share an anecdote. I agree 5x13 is excessive.
They’re wanting restrictions changed for the current 8 max to be raised to 13 max. Optionally.
That wouldn’t mean that everyone works 13 hour days. But some obviously would. Which sucks unless there are other protections.
I do know at least one person that loves his 3x12 job; it’s not universally bad.
Optional… When profit is the main goal of society, is it really a option for those without gross amounts capital? Greece is suffering from a huge labor shortage, so this 13 hours bull will seep into every job eventually. Some wealthy person on high crunched the numbers and realized that the imaginary line on the graph won’t keep going up if everyday people don’t break their backs so those in power can have 7 homes and perverted sex island. The global economy is collapsing and all we can think of is to poor more gas in the fire.
That’s why I said “without other protections”.
But no, this wouldn’t mandate everyone to work 13 hours or even mean it’s likely. Even in the wasteland that is the US, where 13 hour days are (frequently) allowed, it isn’t common.
But yes, someone would be motivated to screw someone else here for the reasons you’re saying.
Many moons ago I was in charge of scheduling for all the guards at a security post for several months. Got everyone together and talked to them, and we all agreed to try out 3x12 instead of 5x8. It’d cut a couple people’s hours, but a few others would get some more. Iirc, a few people only had 2x12, but it was a long time ago.
We all fucking loved it. 4 hours shy of 40 didn’t make a huge difference in pay, but working fewer days than you were off (on for 3, off for 4, every week) more than made up for it. We stopped getting call ours, people showed up on time. It was awesome.
As soon as I stopped making the schedule they changed us back, and we went right back to all the old problems
4x10 is so stupid though. A huge portion of roles could get everything they need to do done in 3x8 or 4x8.
I don’t disagree, but I still prefer 4x10 to 5x8.
edit: s/other/prefer/
It’s just like all the other garbage ‘leadership’ decisions based on how it’s always been done, rather than focusing on actual outcomes.
Sadly it’s way easier for underperforming management to say “ass in chair m-f 9-5” as a productivity improvement than to try and quantify reduced turnover as how it relates to output or wasted man hours from training up new people.
Contract work doesn’t care when you put in your hours, as long as you put them in.
so wait. you were doing the 12 hour thing and you weren’t hourly??? its supposed to be every other week you get 8 hours overtime so 12 hours pay. So basically its supposed to be a bonus days pay every two weeks.
Like I said, I don’t remember how that was reconciled. It was nineteen years ago. It might have been as you described.
Same. It is insane.
I’ve worked two this week. It sucks
That’s a standard shift for the majority of nurses and doctors. Which is (should) then be compensated by working only three days a week. For some jobs and people it works wonderfully - you have less commute time and four entirely free days every week.
The extreme case are firefighters, one 24 hour shift every four days. Unless shit hits the fan and then all bets are off - you don’t exactly walk away from a forest fire because your shift ended a minute ago.
But Greece wants to allow up to 13 hours 5 days a week, which if actually done would burn people up ridiculously fast.
I tried working a 10x4 work week for a few weeks, my experience was I really only had two days free, as Friday was basically spent recovering from the week.
There’s a reason so few people do this.
It beats spending Saturdays recovering from the week and having only one day free.
Friday is a workday, saturday morning is spent recovering, and sunday you have to plan so that you can go back to work on monday morning. You get your one free 24 hours split between saturday and sunday. Yay…
But Greece wants to allow up to 13 hours 5 days a week, which if actually done would burn people up ridiculously fast.
Something tells me this won’t apply to the people pushing it.
Technically it would, as the law change is to allow 13 hour days, not to force them. Same as the previous one that allowed six-day work weeks.
I’m assuming it’s similar to how it’s here in Finland, where the law generally limits work days to 8 hours and a maximum of 40 hours a week. Changing those legal limits wouldn’t directly cause anyone to have to do more work, but it would now be legal - Finland has a few exceptions to it as well, some jobs have the limit be 80 hours per two weeks for example to allow longer/more days crunched together.
If it’s combined with a limit, like “The law now allows up to 13 hour days or six hour work weeks as long as it’s under 40 hours a week”, then in theory it’s a good thing - being able to choose anything between 13h x 3d and 7h x 6d depending on what works best for the job would be useful. The problem obviously is “Hey, you are fine with 13 hour days six days a week right? Oh you aren’t? Well there’s the door we’ll find someone desperate and stupid enough to replace you.”
It’s odd that they consider the really specific case of a teen that works two jobs to make ends meet, and decide to make national sweeping changes to accommodate that. No, no way could it have any negative effect on anyone else. And they definitely shouldn’t try to address the problem of one job for that teen not being enough to support themselves.
THIS is what a union helps you do. To stop shit like this. This is an unthinkable possibility in the US because there’s no unions in any effective capacity.
Hopefully 2025 is the year of the general strikes.
More strikes everywhere please! :3
I used to work 4-10s doing labour. Those days were brutally long. Add another 3 hours? No way it would’ve been done.
Not to add all the food and gear you gotta pack for and bring along for days like that. Idk it’s brutal, especially mixing in a commute.
and at least you have 3 days to recover. there is also a 3.5 day (it actually alternates 3 and 4) 12 hour shift schedules but again you get long periods to recover.
Easy! How about a 13 hr week?
13 hour lol how did they come up with that one
