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Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a contentious labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, despite widespread resistance and countrywide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will modernize Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week continues as before.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is elective, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the reforms align national legislation with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the choice to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union labor regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, critics have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Labor Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.