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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a disputed work legislation that authorizes extended-length work shifts, despite strong resistance and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials stated the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

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

The government maintains that the extended shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the moderate faction – now the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, claiming the changes bring in line national legislation with modern employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide workers the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows European Union labor regulations, which cap the mean workweek to 48 hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.