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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week stays unchanged.

The government emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – now the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the bill, saying the changes align Greek legislation with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will give employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

The measure follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Economic Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.