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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, despite fierce opposition and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will revamp the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

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

The government maintains that the extended workday is optional, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

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

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

This follows European Union working-time regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, critics have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Data and National Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.