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Government Building

The Greek parliament has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

The administration stated the measure will update Greek work laws, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, yearly overtime is also at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek remains in place.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

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

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, claiming the changes bring in line national legislation with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will provide employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union labor regulations, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

But, critics have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Across the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.