🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide strike actions.

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

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is voluntary, only affects the private sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate faction – now the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions 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 Protections

A senior official supported the bill, claiming the reforms align Greek laws with modern labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

The laws will provide workers the option to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They say local workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Context

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to stimulate the economy.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Work Data and National Financial Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, the nation's official base pay was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.