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Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week continues as before.

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

Political Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, claiming the reforms bring in line national legislation with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

The measure complies with European Union working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers 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 end of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Context

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

New laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Labor Data and National Financial Metrics

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.