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Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed labor reform that enables extended-length working days, despite strong opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration asserted the measure will revamp Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

Officials emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group did not vote.

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

Official Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line Greek laws with current labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide employees the choice to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Context

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.