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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a hotly debated labor reform that permits 13-hour working days, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek continues as before.

The government maintains that the extended shift is optional, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate faction – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the bill, saying the changes bring in line national laws with current employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Background

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

New legislation, which started at the start of July, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.