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Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

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

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government maintains that the longer workday is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the governing centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – now the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with current labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide workers the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

This follows EU labor regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, critics have accused the administration of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers already put in more time than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of forty.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.