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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, despite strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the law will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials maintains that the extended shift is voluntary, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the bill, claiming the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Context

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

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.