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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials stated the law will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer workday is optional, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – now the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, stating the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern employment realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the option to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

The measure complies with European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Responses

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

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.