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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a disputed labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place.

Officials maintains that the longer workday is optional, solely applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left party – currently the main opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

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

Official Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

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

This complies with European Union working-time rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Work Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.