Heraklion Hotel Staff to Strike on April 9

Heraklion’s tourism sector is rife with turmoil due to rising tensions between hotel staff and management. The Hotel Employees’ Union of Heraklion is preparing for a strike on April 9, 2025, calling all members to gather at Heraklion’s Labor Center.

Heraklion’s hotel workers have made their demands clear:

• A fair new local collective labor agreement with significant wage increases.
• Concrete actions to curb skyrocketing living costs.
• Preservation of labor rights, including the 11-hour rest policy.
• Permanent relief from exploitative working conditions.

The union isn’t in the mood for compromises, stating bluntly that the April 9 strike is just the beginning. If demands remain unmet, April could see escalated protests with more strikes and louder calls for justice.

Workers claim they have encountered ongoing obstacles in negotiations for a new local collective labor agreement. Though they hold several meetings, companies doggedly reject significant pay increases and provide a so-called “sweetener”: greater allowances for lodging and meals.

Ironically, Heraklion flourishes on tourism, with workers providing the foundation of its success. Still, the union contends that these very people are devalued, overworked, and underpaid. Managers might anticipate quiet obedience, but this time, employees are doubling down. Their most recent statement states, stressing that tourism workers are not disposable items, “We won’t let anyone mess with our dignity.”

Union representatives have not been shy about blaming the Heraklion Hotel Association for flagrant neglect of workers’ needs. They call these regulations an attack on workers’ rights, including extending work hours and avoiding required rest breaks. The infamous 11-hour rest rule, for example, is already under consideration for removal, indicating more demanding tasks and little leisure for tired workers.

As if that weren’t terrible enough, no meeting is planned prior to the start of the hectic tourist season. Hotel owners appear to be banking that overworked, underpaid employees will simply endure.