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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a disputed labor reform that enables 13-hour working days, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide strike actions.

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

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, annual overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer workday is voluntary, only applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests demanding the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the bill, claiming the changes align Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

These regulations will give workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU working-time rules, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

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

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.