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Government Building

The Greek parliament has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the longer workday is optional, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left party – now the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that brought public transport and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the bill, saying the changes align Greek legislation with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.