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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a contentious work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, annual extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

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

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the bill, saying the changes bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Economic Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.