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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a contentious labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, despite widespread opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration stated the law will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, solely applies to the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate faction – now the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the changes bring in line national legislation with modern employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure complies with EU labor regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.