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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

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

Officials maintains that the extended workday is optional, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, saying the changes bring in line Greek laws with current employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining overtime.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already put in more time than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which started at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

EU Work Data and National Financial Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, 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.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.