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Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a disputed labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the measure will modernize Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials maintains that the longer workday is optional, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the bill, saying the changes align national laws with current labor-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give employees the option to take on extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

This complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

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

EU Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.