🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, despite widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials stated the law will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is voluntary, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the governing centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, saying the reforms align Greek laws with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure complies with EU working-time rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers already work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Labor Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.