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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a contentious labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left party – now the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests demanding the law's repeal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with modern labor-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to take on extra work with the current company for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Work Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.