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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a hotly debated work legislation that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration stated the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is elective, only affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the primary opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the changes align national legislation with modern labor-market realities, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Reactions

But, critics have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

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

New laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay stood at €968 a month, placing 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 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the EU.