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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a contentious work legislation that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

The administration asserted the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is also at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government insists that the extended shift is optional, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and public services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, saying the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union working-time regulations, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans 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."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.