Greece Passes Controversial Labor Legislation Authorizing 13-Hour Workdays in Certain Cases

Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that permits 13-hour working days, in the face of strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the law will update the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, yearly extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before.

Officials maintains that the extended shift is optional, only affects the private sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left party – now the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, claiming the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current employment realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for increased compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but permit adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

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

European Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.