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Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a contentious work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, despite widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration asserted the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer workday is optional, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

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

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the changes align national legislation with current employment conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will give workers the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU working-time rules, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers 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 flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Background

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the start of the summer, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.