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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a contentious labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials claimed the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government maintains that the longer workday is voluntary, only affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Political Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with current labor-market realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give employees the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining overtime.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which cap the mean workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

European Work Data and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's national base pay stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.