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Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a contentious labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials stated the law will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials insists that the longer shift is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – now the primary opposition – voting against the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the reforms align national legislation with current employment conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local employees already work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, the nation's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.