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Greece's legislature has approved a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the law will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek continues as before.

The government insists that the extended shift is optional, only applies to the private sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

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

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, saying the reforms align national laws with current labor-market realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This complies with European Union working-time regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say local employees currently put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Recent Labor Changes and Economic Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed 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), according to EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.