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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a disputed work legislation that permits 13-hour working days, despite strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the measure will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week continues as before.

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

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left party – now the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, claiming the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will give workers the option to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

This complies with EU working-time regulations, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.