🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, despite strong resistance and countrywide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will revamp the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week stays unchanged.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is optional, only affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – now the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line national legislation with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, critics have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most 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 personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of July, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Work Statistics 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 (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.