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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a contentious work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of strong resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

Officials insists that the longer shift is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, stating the reforms align national laws with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the average week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, according to the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Work Data and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.