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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a disputed work legislation that permits extended-length work shifts, despite strong resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will revamp the country's labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government maintains that the longer shift is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

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

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, stating the reforms align Greek laws with modern employment realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU labor rules, which cap the average week to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Economic Metrics

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.