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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a disputed labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration claimed the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Safeguards

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

The laws will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of this year, Greece's official minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.