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Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will modernize the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week continues as before.

The government maintains that the extended shift is optional, solely affects the private sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – currently the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with modern labor-market realities, and accused critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide employees the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

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

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They say local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Work Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's official base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.