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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a disputed labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, despite widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour week stays unchanged.

The government insists that the longer workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate faction – now the main opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the bill, stating the reforms align Greek legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure follows European Union labor rules, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the start of July, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Work Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.