ð Share this article The Greek Parliament Approves Controversial Workplace Legislation Authorizing Extended Workdays in Certain Cases Government Building The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide strike actions. The administration claimed the law will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "regulatory disaster." Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation According to the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place. The government insists that the extended workday is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year. Parliamentary Support and Opposition Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction â currently the primary opposition â voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained. Labor unions have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and public services to a stop. Government Defense and Worker Protections The Labor Minister supported the bill, claiming the reforms bring in line Greek laws with current employment realities, and alleged critics of misleading the citizens. The laws will provide employees the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime. This complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, according to the government. Opposition Viewpoints and Union Reactions But, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties." The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation." Recent Labor Changes and Economic Context In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to boost economic growth. New laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40. EU Work Data and National Economic Indicators Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8). The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat. Starting this year, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries. Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate. Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.