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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration stated the measure will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the extended shift is voluntary, solely applies to the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

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

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes bring in line national laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the option to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a bid to boost the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded 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, as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.