expenses has paved the way for the removal of legal barriers to the exploitation of labour for everyone. As an explosion in growth of the NGO sector is a symptom of the general deregulation of the welfare state (Lyberaki and Tinios, 2014), the aid industry in Greece represents often one of the most appealing sources of qualified employment for young professionals.106 Nevertheless, NGO workers did not escape the implications of the generalised degradation of labour conditions in the country. As a rule, under its funding mechanisms, the European Commission would only cover up to 80 per cent of the costs of an accepted project. The remaining 20 per cent had to be covered with co-funding from the state. Compounding matters, the EC would only start to disburse money once that latter share had been made available. Civil society organisations have for many years lamented that the Greek government usually took several months to pay its contribution, meaning that organisations had to pre-finance their operations. As a result, NGO workers would be left for months on end unpaid. 107 While it could be argued that the disposition of funds created administrative obstacles, funding delays have been often cunningly employed as an excuse for other labour violations. NGO workers experienced delayed payments for months at a time, constant unpaid overtime work, and a demand for extreme flexibility in working hours. Statistics from SVEMKO, the Base Union of Workers in the NGO sector, indicate that there have been numerous violations of labour law.108 A quick search on the website shows that, from 2013 to 2019, SVEMKO documented, publicised and intervened through covering trial costs in more than 50 cases of violations of labour law and ethics. It should be noted, though, that most violations go unrecorded for only a minority of them are reported. This may be attributed to the fact that most employees are scared to report their employers and the fact that SVEMKO is not well known to those who are not familiar with unions. Furthermore, according to recent research on NGO workers amid conditions of mass mobility, the participants said they felt very vulnerable to the whims of employers as they worked on precarious fixed term contracts (Katsenos and G.A., 2020). Not knowing when or if your contract might be renewed adds to widespread stress and a feeling See Pascucci (2018) for a similar portrayal of the uncertain status of increasingly precarious Arab urban middle classes and their reliance on the aid industry. 106 I have personally stayed nine months unpaid. This period combines work at two different organisations. This means that I left my previous post without getting back pay, which only came months later. 107 108 SVEMKO’s official blog is https://svemko.espivblogs.net/ 160