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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the measure will modernize Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials maintains that the longer workday is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests demanding the law's repeal this month that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with modern employment conditions, and accused critics of misleading the public.

The laws will provide employees the option to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure complies with EU working-time rules, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Labor Statistics and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros 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 August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.