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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, despite widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials stated the law will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

The government maintains that the extended workday is optional, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate party – now the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, stating the changes align Greek legislation with current employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours including overtime but permit flexibility over a year, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Work Data and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.