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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a contentious labor reform that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

The administration claimed the law will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the extended workday is voluntary, solely applies to the private sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with current employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

This follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated 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 Workplace Changes and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Labor Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros 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 the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.