Greece Approves Debated Workplace Law Authorizing Extended Workdays in Certain Circumstances

Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of strong resistance and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer shift is elective, only affects the private sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – now the main opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests demanding the law's repeal recently that halted public transport and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the reforms bring in line national laws with modern employment realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will give workers the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

This complies with European Union labor rules, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

EU Work Data and National Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's official minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.