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Government Building

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

The administration asserted the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government insists that the longer workday is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

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

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the reforms align Greek legislation with current employment conditions, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give employees the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows European Union labor rules, which cap the average week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

But, critics have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.