The Greek Parliament Passes Debated Labor Law Allowing Extended Working Days in Specific Cases

Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a contentious labor reform that enables extended-length working days, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week remains in place.

The government emphasizes that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – now the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, claiming the changes align national legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

However, critics have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.