Labor Ministry backpedals on stricter union regulations

Fears of a backlash prompted the Labor Ministry late on Monday night to call back stricter regulations for the operation of unions, particularly in regards to how they call strikes.

The amendment agreed with the country's international lenders over the weekend demanded that unions gather a greater number of votes from their members in order to call a strike by at least 50 percent from one-third or even one-fifth that it currently the case.

The civil servant's union ADEDY had called a nationwide strike for Tuesday to protest the measure and communist-affiliated union PAME was planning a rally in downtown Athens, but it appears that fears of reactions from within the leftist ruling party motivated the Labor Ministry's leadership to go back to the drawing board.

"When the new amendments are submitted, there will be time for a broader discussion on their content in...