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Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a contentious work legislation that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the extended workday is elective, only affects the private sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate party – now the primary opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the bill, stating the reforms bring in line Greek legislation with modern employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give workers the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of July, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.