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Greece's legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will update Greek labor regulations, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials insists that the extended workday is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, stating the changes align Greek laws with current employment realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, critics have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say local employees currently put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.