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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that enables extended-length working days, despite fierce opposition and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the law will modernize the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek remains in place.

The government maintains that the extended shift is optional, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the primary opposition – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide employees the option to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours including overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.