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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite fierce resistance and countrywide protests.

The administration asserted the measure will modernize Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government emphasizes that the extended shift is optional, only affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was backed by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

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

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the changes bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide employees the choice to accept extra work with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

The measure complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

However, critics have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say local employees already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

New legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.