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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

The administration claimed the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials insists that the extended shift is elective, solely applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the moderate faction – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line Greek laws with current employment realities, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

This follows EU labor rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

EU Work Data and National Financial Metrics

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.