The long corridors of the Ministry of Labour in Athens are used to processions of delegations, but the one that arrived on Thursday, September 11, 2025, carried more than polite petitions as representatives of POEET, joined by Heraklion Labour Center’s Stelios Vorgias, came to speak for thousands of seasonal workers who keep Greece’s tourism afloat.
They did not come alone. Sitting across the table were Heraklion Hotel Association president Mr. Chalkiadakis and vice-president Ms. Tamiolaki—hoteliers who, for once, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their employees. Their shared request was simple: extend the unemployment fund.
In the end, the Ministry offered a delay. A study from the Athens University of Economics, due in October, would, they said, provide the answers. Until then, patience.
Patience, however, is a word that seasonal workers have worn thin. Adding salt to the wound, the meeting included the assertion that “Greeks do not want to work in tourism.”
The Backbone Refuses to Bend
The response was swift. In a statement issued after the meeting, the workers’ representatives stripped away the polite varnish:
- They would not stand by the “provocative stance” of the Ministry.
- Greek workers, through “hard work and personal sacrifice,” keep tourism standing.
- If labour is missing, it is not from unwillingness but from insecurity, lack of protection, and broken promises.
- Seasonal workers are not second-class citizens. They are the backbone of Greece’s so-called “heavy industry.”
- They will continue—and escalate—their struggle.
The scene could have been lifted from a play: workers and hoteliers, rarely allies, finding common ground in front of a government unwilling to give a straight answer. The message leaving Athens that evening was unmistakable.
Heraklion’s tourism workers have run out of patience, and this time, they are not alone.