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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce resistance and countrywide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government emphasizes that the longer workday is voluntary, solely applies to the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – now the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes demanding the law's repeal recently that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the bill, stating the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will provide employees the option to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining overtime.

The measure complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than most 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 standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Context

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

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Work Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.