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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a contentious work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, despite widespread opposition and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials stated the law will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week continues as before.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is optional, solely affects the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – currently the main opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

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

New legislation, which started at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Labor Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.