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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that authorizes extended-length work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration stated the measure will modernize Greek 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, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials emphasizes that the extended workday is optional, solely affects the private sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

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

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

Government Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes align Greek legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining overtime.

The measure follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.