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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that enables 13-hour working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials stated the law will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved law, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the longer workday is optional, solely affects the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – now the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, claiming the reforms bring in line Greek laws with current employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining overtime.

The measure complies with European Union labor rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

EU Labor Statistics and National Financial Metrics

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.