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Greece's legislature has approved a hotly debated work legislation that permits extended-length work shifts, despite fierce resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials stated the law will revamp Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the extended shift is elective, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left faction – now the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, saying the changes align national legislation with current labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will provide workers the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU working-time rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Background

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

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.