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The Greek legislature has approved a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

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

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek remains in place.

The government emphasizes that the extended shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

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

Labor unions have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the bill, stating the reforms align national legislation with modern labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU working-time rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Work Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay stood at 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 financial crisis, 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 financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.