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Government Building

The Greek parliament has ratified a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length working days, despite fierce opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration stated the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

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

Officials emphasizes that the longer shift is elective, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the reforms align Greek legislation with modern labor-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the option to take on extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Labor Data and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.