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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that permits extended-length working days, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide protests.

The administration stated the measure will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week stays unchanged.

The government maintains that the extended workday is voluntary, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes align Greek laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows European Union working-time regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, critics have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Changes and Economic Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

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

EU Work Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's national base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.