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Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes extended-length work shifts, despite fierce opposition and countrywide strike actions.

The administration stated the law will update Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials insists that the longer shift is voluntary, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line national legislation with current employment realities, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

The measure follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

EU Work Statistics and National Financial Metrics

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, the nation's national base pay stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.