Greece Finally Discovers Light, Air, and Human Dignity
There are two kinds of Greek tourism news. The first kind is the usual: awards, fairs, markets, and cheerful slogans about “authentic experiences.”
The second kind is what we have here: a formal government decision that quietly admits something uncomfortable — that for years, staff accommodation in Greek tourism has often been treated like an optional detail, something between a storage room and a punishment.
So now, Greece has done what Greece always does when reality becomes too loud to ignore: it issued a Joint Ministerial Decision (ΚΥΑ).
It was signed by the Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, and the Minister responsible for Environment and Energy matters, Stavros Papastavrou, and it sets minimum standards and obligations for the accommodation provided to employees working in tourism enterprises.
Yes — minimum standards.
Apparently, without law, the concept of “a room for a worker” remained open to interpretation.
The basics: sunlight, air, space (revolutionary)
Under the new rules, staff rooms must have natural lighting and ventilation. This sentence alone tells you everything you need to know about why this decision was necessary.
The decision also sets a minimum floor area:
- 12 square meters for a single room
- 14 square meters for a double room
- 17 square meters for a triple room
Not generous — but at least it establishes a measurable boundary between housing and crowding.
Bathrooms, furniture, and the modern luxury of… hot water
Staff rooms must include a bathroom with necessary hygiene items and bathroom equipment.
Bedrooms must also include proper furnishings and at least:
- beds of minimum dimensions (single 0.90 x 1.90 m, double 1.60 x 2.00 m),
- bedside tables,
- wardrobes or closets,
- refrigerator,
- television,
- internet connection,
- and hot water in the bathroom.
This reads like a standard hotel room checklist — which is mildly ironic, since tourism is an industry that sells comfort while often outsourcing discomfort to its own workers.
Shared facilities: because humans wash clothes
The decision also requires common spaces and practical infrastructure, including:
- laundry room, dryer room, ironing room,
- outdoor area for drying laundry,
- linen storage, cleaning supply storage,
- and a shared kitchen of at least 15 square meters.
Laundry equipment is calculated as one set of machines per 20 beds.
Kitchen requirements are also spelled out with almost comedic precision, including:
- a four-burner stovetop (“poly-cooker”) per 30 beds,
- extractor hood,
- sink,
- one fridge per 20 beds,
- one microwave per 20 beds,
- Plus adequate stainless steel cooking equipment and dishes.
In other words, the state is now describing, in legal language, what every adult already knows — workers need to live like people, not like temporary warehouse inventory.
Climate control is mandatory.
Staff housing must also have heating and cooling.
Again, the fact that this must be legislated says plenty. Especially in places like Crete, where summer is not “warm,” it is aggressively hot, and winter can be damp, cold, and punishing in cheap buildings.
Employer obligations: pay, maintain, repair (and stop pretending)
The decision does not stop at infrastructure. It lays out clear employer obligations:
Employers must keep all shared spaces and facilities in excellent functional condition, and must cover all fees, taxes, operating costs, and expenses related to proper operation.
They are also responsible for:
- operating costs,
- maintenance,
- repairs,
- and utilities including electricity, water, heating, and cooling.
And here is the crucial part: employers also have a duty to protect staff residents from disturbance, danger, injury, or damage, especially where hazards result from faulty installations or the failure to take preventive measures.
Meaning: if something breaks and someone gets hurt, “we did not know” will no longer be the default excuse.
Roommates, agreements, and the fine print of coexistence
Because Greece is Greece, the decision also addresses cohabitation.
Employers must place roommates together only if there is a written agreement to share a room — and significantly, disagreement cannot affect employment.
If agreement is impossible, cohabitation should involve persons of the same sex.
Also, there must be a code of conduct/house regulations (“κανονισμός λειτουργίας”).
Yes, even staff housing needs a rulebook now — because when living conditions are tight and crowded, problems multiply fast.
Staff obligations: report damages, do not modify, no surprise guests
The decision also sets obligations for staff living in these facilities.
They must:
- immediately report damages or dysfunctions in utilities, pipes, or room installations,
- and they are not allowed to conduct repair work without approval and compliance with regulations.
They also cannot host third parties beyond approved personnel.
And they must avoid disturbing other residents.
If pets are allowed, staff are exclusively responsible for any nuisance or damage caused by them.
The enforcement part: fines, then sealing, then forced relocation
Now for the part that will truly determine whether this decision means anything: enforcement.
If a facility does not comply within 30 days of a fine being imposed, authorities may impose the measure of sealing staff rooms.
And here is the clever pressure mechanism: while sealed, the hotel must provide alternative accommodation for staff — within the same hotel or another hotel of at least two stars — and cover the cost.
In plain language:
If you choose to treat staff housing like a forgotten basement, you might end up paying for real accommodation at market cost.
That is how regulation becomes real: through financial pain.
What changes now (if implemented correctly)
This decision does not solve every issue in tourism labor — wages, contracts, burnout, seasonal exploitation — but it hits one area that has been shamefully ignored: basic living conditions.
If applied seriously, it could end one of the ugliest open secrets of Greek tourism:
that in some cases, the people serving paradise were sleeping in conditions unfit for a human being.
Tourism is not only about beaches and awards.
Tourism is also the worker who keeps the building alive.
And yes — natural light and ventilation should never have needed to become ministerial policy.
But here we are.
Written with assistance from Arthur AI.
