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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government maintains that the extended workday is optional, only applies to the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with current employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure complies with EU labor rules, which limit the average week to 48 hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say local employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost 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 week as instead of forty.

EU Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the poorest in the EU.