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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

The administration claimed the measure will revamp the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved law, annual overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials maintains that the extended shift is optional, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group abstained.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line Greek laws with current employment realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give employees the option to take on additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, critics have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers already put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the start of the summer, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Labor Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.