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The Greek legislature has approved a disputed work legislation that authorizes extended-length work shifts, despite widespread opposition and countrywide strike actions.

The administration stated the measure will revamp Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials insists that the extended shift is optional, solely affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate faction – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, stating the changes align Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

The laws will provide employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours including overtime but allow flexibility over a year, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers already put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which started at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Labor Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.