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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a contentious labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials claimed the measure will revamp Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

The government insists that the extended shift is voluntary, solely affects the private 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 political group, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, stating the changes bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which limit the mean week to 48 hours including overtime but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

European Labor Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.