🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a disputed labor reform that enables 13-hour working days, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will update the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is elective, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, stating the reforms align Greek laws with modern employment conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be fired for refusing extra hours.

This follows EU labor rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Work Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.