Greece Approves Debated Labor Legislation Authorizing 13-Hour Workdays in Certain Cases

Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a contentious labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, despite strong resistance and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials stated the measure will update the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week remains in place.

Officials maintains that the longer workday is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left party – now the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing group abstained.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, claiming the reforms align national laws with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This complies with European Union working-time rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over a year, according to the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They say local workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.