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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length working days, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials emphasizes that the longer shift is voluntary, only affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – now the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the bill, claiming the reforms align national laws with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will provide employees the choice to accept extra work with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

This complies with European Union labor 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 Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.