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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials stated the law will revamp Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

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

The government insists that the extended workday is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, stating the changes align national legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will provide workers the option to accept additional hours with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

The measure follows European Union working-time rules, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours including overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours 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 Economic Context

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

New laws, which started at the start of July, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.