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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 countrywide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the measure will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials insists that the extended shift is voluntary, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the reforms align Greek legislation with current labor-market realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

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

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already 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 reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% 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 decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.