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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a contentious work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will modernize Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week continues as before.

Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is voluntary, only affects the private 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 ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, claiming the reforms align national laws with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This complies with European Union working-time rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say local workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.