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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a contentious labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials maintains that the longer workday is optional, solely applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the centre-left party – currently the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the reforms bring in line Greek legislation with current employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This complies with European Union working-time regulations, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

European Work Data and National Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.