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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of strong resistance and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials stated the measure will revamp the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before.

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

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, claiming the changes align national legislation with current labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading 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 dismissed for declining extra hours.

This follows EU working-time rules, which cap the average week to 48 hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Work Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.