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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration claimed the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is optional, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the changes align national laws with current employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the choice to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

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

Critical Perspectives and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.