Greece Approves Disputed Labor Legislation Authorizing Extended Working Days in Specific Cases

Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a disputed work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials insists that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the law's repeal this month that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, claiming the reforms align Greek laws with modern labor-market realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide employees the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

This follows EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Labor Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.