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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the centre-left party – currently the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, saying the reforms bring in line Greek laws with current employment conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU labor regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

Last year, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage was 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 eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.