The Greek Parliament Enacts Disputed Workplace Law Permitting Extended Working Days in Certain Situations

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that enables extended-length working days, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is also at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, stating the changes bring in line national legislation with current labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

This complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

EU Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.