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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration asserted the law will revamp the country's labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the New Labor Law

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

Officials maintains that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

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

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

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

The measure complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the mean workweek to 48 hours including overtime but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and National Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.