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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, despite strong opposition and nationwide protests.

The administration claimed the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government maintains that the extended workday is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the primary opposition – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

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

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes bring in line national laws with modern labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will give employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU working-time rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently put in more time than most 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 disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Labor Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the poorest in the EU.