The Greek Parliament Enacts Controversial Labor Law Permitting 13-Hour Working Days in Specific Cases

Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a contentious labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, despite fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials stated the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

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

The government emphasizes that the extended shift is optional, solely affects the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line Greek legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

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

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local workers already work longer hours than most Europeans 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 disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Economic Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the start of July, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August 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 concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.