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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

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

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, claiming the reforms align national laws with modern employment realities, and alleged critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will provide employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining overtime.

The measure follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

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

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.