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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that permits extended-length working days, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration stated the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials insists that the longer shift is optional, only affects the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

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

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, stating the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will provide employees the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure complies with European Union labor rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans 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 authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.