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Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a disputed labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will revamp the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the extended workday is voluntary, solely affects the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

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

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official defended the bill, claiming the changes bring in line national legislation with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will provide employees the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

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

New laws, which started at the beginning of July, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Work Data and National Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.