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Government Building

The Greek parliament has ratified a contentious labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, despite widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the longer shift is optional, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent vote was backed by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the centre-left party – now the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will give employees the option to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Responses

But, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for specific sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Work Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.