🔗 Share this article The Greek Parliament Enacts Disputed Labor Legislation Allowing Longer Working Days in Certain Situations Government Building The Greek legislature has ratified a contentious labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce opposition and countrywide strike actions. Government officials claimed the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster." Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law Under the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before. Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days each year. Parliamentary Support and Resistance Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate faction – currently the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive group did not vote. Labor unions have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and public services to a standstill. Government Defense and Employee Protections A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current labor-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public. The laws will provide workers the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours. This follows European Union labor rules, which limit the mean week to 48 hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government. Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions But, critics have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet." A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation." Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Context Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to stimulate the economy. Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty. European Work Data and Greek Economic Metrics Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8). The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics. As of January 2025, the nation's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations. Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate. Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.