Working time

Prosecutors will no longer be able to veto prisoners' right to furlough, according to a draft bill seeking to reform the country's prison rules.

The bill, which is expected to be put to a vote in Parliament in the next few weeks, also stipulates that furloughs will have a longer duration and will be granted earlier.

An advisory body to the German government has recommended that Berlin loosen the country's employment law, allowing companies to ask employees to work more than eight hours per day; they say the change is needed to meet the challenges of the digital era.

After holding a series of walkouts in previous weeks, Greek doctors warned of fresh action over a Health Ministry bill that Parliament passed Thursday overhauling their working hours and staff recruitment procedures.

Doctors at state hospitals are to walk off the job from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday to protest draft legislation foreseeing an overhaul of their working hours.

Referring to the government as "thieves," the Federation of Greek Hospital Doctors (OENGE) said the new regulations "demolish any sense of normality in doctors' working hours."

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) will insist on a salary of at least BGN 700 for a young people who graduated university, and who are working in their specialty. Decent pay for overtime is also part of the demands of the unions for which they will fight during the national  protest on Friday, October 27.

A map depicting average weekly work in Europe was created by linguist and mathematician Jakub Marian.

The data are the most recent from the OECD, which showed the total working hours per week in each country.

A Labor Ministry bill expected to be voted into law next week will result in new obligations and binding timetables for all enterprises.

The majority of employer associations noted at the parliamentary committee meetings that the bill's provisions will increase rather than reduce the bureaucratic obstacles which hamper enterprises' everyday operations.

The Ministry of labour submitted in parliament on Tuesday evening a draft bill on a series of measures designed to protect labour rights.

The police starts making checkups about the working hours of establishments selling alcohol in the small towns, said the Ministry of Internal Affairs this Tuesday.

Legislation being drafted by the Health Ministry aims to set a 12-hour limit on shifts worked by Greek doctors at state hospitals and put an end to the much longer hours that are not uncommon today.