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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a hotly debated labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will modernize Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Political Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left party – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

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

The laws will provide workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Labor Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.