- Active Interventions: Following reports of unpaid Easter bonuses, the Union has officially triggered interventions with the Labor Inspectorate.
- System Manipulation: President Nikos Kokolakis alleges that some hotels are tampering with the “Ergani” digital system to hide actual working hours.
- The 12-Day Rule: The Union claims under-occupied hotels are illegally forcing staff to take up to 12 days off per month to slash payroll costs.
- Workforce Shift: Kokolakis notes a visible decline in local, trained staff, with hotels increasingly relying on cheaper, outsourced labor from abroad to fill the gaps.
The Breaking Point in Cretan Hospitality
The rhetoric in Heraklion has turned decidedly sharp. Nikos Kokolakis, President of the Heraklion Hotel Employees’ Union, spoke directly to Cretalive today, making it clear that the “Cretan Hospitality” brand is being hollowed out from within. “We are not starting well at all,” Kokolakis remarked, citing a surge in complaints that continued right through Holy Wednesday.
Key Labor Data
- The “6:40” Shift: A tactic used to bypass the 8-hour Collective Labor Agreement.
- Unpaid Dues: Multiple reports of the mandatory Easter Bonus (Doro Pascha) being withheld.
- Payroll Slashes: Arbitrary imposition of 12 “repo” (days off) per month.
The primary target of his ire? A blatant disregard for the law that he says is turning the industry into a “jungle.” The most serious allegation involves the sophisticated manipulation of the Digital Work Card. According to the Union, some employers are interfering with the system so that “punches” don’t register, effectively making overtime invisible and unpaid.
“We will not allow the sector to become a ‘jungle’ to increase profits at the expense of the workers. It is not that workers are missing; it is that decent working conditions are missing,” said Nikos Kokolakis, President of the Heraklion Hotel Employees’ Union.
The “Missing Worker” Myth
Kokolakis was particularly sarcastic regarding the industry’s outcry over staffing shortages. He suggests the answer isn’t a lack of people, but a lack of dignity. “They wonder why they can’t find workers. How can they, when they exhibit such behavior?” he asked. He pointed out that highly trained, young Greek professionals are fleeing the sector to avoid exploitation, leaving behind a “jungle” where legal shifts are sliced into 6-hour-and-40-minute fragments to avoid full-time benefits.
The Union is calling on the understaffed Labor Inspectorate to conduct “targeted strikes” against specific units named in recent complaints. Their message to the owners is simple: respect for the workforce is a legal mandate, not a management “style choice.”
Original report: “Δε θα επιτρέψουμε συνθήκες εργασιακής ζούγκλας”-Με απανωτές καταγγελίες η νέα τουριστική σεζόν στο Ηράκλειο!
