ATHENS — "The huge structural changes we are planning for the labour market will be presented in a draft law on the modernisation of the labour market in mid-November," stated Labour Minister Yiannis Vroutsis to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) on Friday.

"Our aim is to conduct a detailed, sincere and productive dialogue with society, the workers, enterprises and the social organisations and, for this reason, we will devote as much time as is needed to the parliamentary discussion, to social dialogue and the parliamentary process," Vroutsis said, underlining that the mix of changes the government is planning "will contribute to the creation of jobs, the protection of labour rights and the removal of outdated disincentives that serve to discourage the creation of an investment climate and an improvement of the labour market for workers and enterprises."

He also clarified that the pillars of the government's labour reform remain the eight-hour working day and 40-hour working week, but combined with flexibility, modernisation and digitisation of the labour market.

Vroutsis said that the changes will significantly boost the European acquis in terms of achieving a home and work life balance and removing disincentives for employing women, incorporating International Labour Organisation recommendations and taking advantage of the best European practices.

Referring to trade union legislation, the minister said that "we are radically changing the trade union laws after 40 years in an attempt to improve and modernise the union movement, make it more attractive to workers and better suited to the new social and economic reality. A right to strike with an equal right to work."

In a statement to the ANA, Vroutsis said that this will be an innovative and reforming draft law that does not roll back but actually enhances labour rights, "creating a new and modern labour market, as workers truly deserve, and helping to strengthen the Greek economy"