🔗 Share this article

Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a disputed labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, despite widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

The administration claimed the law will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the New Labor Law

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

Officials insists that the longer shift is optional, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the bill, stating the changes align national laws with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the option to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This complies with European Union working-time rules, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.