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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, despite strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration stated the law will revamp the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is voluntary, only applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left faction – now the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group did not vote.

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

Government Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, stating the changes align national legislation with current employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

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

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees already work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Context

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

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

EU Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of this year, the nation's national base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.