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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, despite widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line Greek legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

This complies with EU working-time rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, critics have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

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

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

EU Labor Data and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.