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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, in the face of widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials maintains that the longer shift is voluntary, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate party – now the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, stating the changes bring in line Greek laws with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide employees the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for declining extra hours.

The measure follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Economic Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the EU.