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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide protests.

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

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before.

The government maintains that the longer workday is elective, only affects the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the changes align national legislation with modern employment conditions, and accused critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will give workers the option to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for refusing extra hours.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost the economy.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, Greece's national base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.