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

Government officials stated the law will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the extended shift is optional, solely applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – now the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that brought transportation and public services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, stating the changes bring in line national legislation with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Work Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier 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 five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.