🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a contentious labor reform that enables 13-hour working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

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

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is optional, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, stating the changes bring in line Greek legislation with modern employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local employees currently put in more time than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.