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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a disputed labor reform that authorizes extended-length work shifts, in the face of fierce opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved law, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer shift is elective, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate faction – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the reforms align national laws with current labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept extra work with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

This follows EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, critics have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Context

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

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and National Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.