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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a disputed work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, despite strong opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration stated the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week continues as before.

Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, claiming the changes align Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with European Union working-time regulations, which limit the mean week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.