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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a disputed work legislation that permits extended-length working days, despite strong resistance and countrywide strike actions.

The administration stated the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, only applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the moderate faction – currently the main opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with modern employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

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

New laws, which started at the beginning of July, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.