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Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a contentious labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite widespread opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the law will revamp the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer workday is elective, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the reforms bring in line Greek legislation with current employment realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Background

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

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, Greece's official base pay stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.