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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that authorizes extended-length work shifts, despite fierce opposition and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the law will modernize Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government insists that the longer shift is elective, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate party – now the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, stating the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor rules, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

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

Recent laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Labor Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.