Greece Approves Disputed Labor Legislation Permitting Extended Working Days in Certain Situations

Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a contentious work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials stated the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek continues as before.

The government insists that the extended shift is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate faction – now the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the reforms align national laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the option to accept extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union labor rules, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say local employees already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Changes and Economic Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus 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 recent years, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.