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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will revamp the country's labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week stays unchanged.

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

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

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

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes bring in line national laws with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This follows European Union working-time regulations, which limit the mean week to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

European Labor Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• As of this year, Greece's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.