ATHENS — Debate on the government's draft bill on labour law began in the parliamentary plenum at 9:00 on Monday, with all sides expecting a heated discussion spanning all aspects of government policy and not confined to labour law alone.

The parliamentary groups have relayed a request to the Conference of Presidents to ensure there is ample time for the debate so that as many speakers can address the plenum as possible. The debate is therefore expected to span three sessions, starting on Monday and culminating in a vote on the night of Wednesday, June 16.

The ruling party has defended the bill as "forward-looking" in outlook, "without anachronisms", whereas it is strenuously opposed by the opposition parties, which reject it as "unredeemable" and have called for it to be withdrawn, saying that it "returns working people to the start of the 19th century" and changes their lives and society for the worse.

The government has itself stated its intention to request a roll-call vote but the opposition has asked for certain articles to be withdrawn outright or denounced them as unconstitutional.

Parliamentary deputies have also been given access to a report on the draft legislation issued two days ago by Parliament's Scientific Council, which found that, while it was possible for labour relations to be regulated by means of individual contracts if proposed by the employee, the study of labour law questions the authenticity of such individual contracts due to the employee's dependent position relative to the employer.