The Greek Parliament Enacts Disputed Labor Law Permitting Longer Workdays in Specific Situations

Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the law will update Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

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

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and public services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give employees the choice to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Context

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Labor Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.