BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary*s president says he has signed into law disputed amendments to labor rules which greatly increase overtime hours employers can request from workers.

President Janos Ader said Thursday in a statement that he had examined the law approved last week in Parliament and found it in-line with Hungary*s constitution and European standards. It doesn’t put workers* rights at risk, he added.

Protests against the policy and other measures of Prime Minister Viktor Orban*s government have been taking place for over a week. There have been occasional clashes between protestors and police.

Ader said any concerns about the changes to the labor code “cannot be a barrier to the workers* blessed Christmas, a peaceful time between the two holidays and a calm new year.”