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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a contentious work legislation that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials stated the measure will update the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is elective, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

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

The laws will provide employees the choice to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours including overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background

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

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• 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 stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.