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The Greek parliament has approved a hotly debated labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, despite widespread resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration asserted the law will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

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

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line Greek laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will give employees the option to accept extra work with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor rules, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers already work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated 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 Financial Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

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

European Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.