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Government Building

The Greek parliament has ratified a contentious labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite widespread opposition and countrywide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials insists that the longer shift is optional, only affects the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate party – now the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group abstained.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, saying the reforms align Greek legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

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

The measure complies with EU working-time rules, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours including overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Labor Statistics and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• As of this year, Greece's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier 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 indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.