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Government Building

Greece's legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, despite fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the measure will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

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

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the reforms align Greek laws with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours including overtime but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

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

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.