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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a disputed work legislation that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the freshly approved law, yearly extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek continues as before.

The government maintains that the longer shift is elective, solely applies to the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left faction – now the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the reforms align national legislation with current labor-market realities, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This follows EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

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

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

Previous Workplace Changes and Economic Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Labor Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.