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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite strong resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will update Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer workday is voluntary, solely applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and public services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, stating the changes align Greek legislation with current employment conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU labor rules, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, critics have charged the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers already work longer hours than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

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

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and National Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's official base pay stood at 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 financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.