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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the extended workday is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing group abstained.

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

Official Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the changes bring in line Greek laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the option to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

This follows EU labor rules, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Changes and Economic Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.