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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a disputed work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, despite widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, annual overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government insists that the extended workday is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can only 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 faction – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, saying the changes align national laws with current labor-market realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

This follows EU labor regulations, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees currently put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

European Labor Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• 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.