🔗 Share this article Greece Enacts Controversial Labor Law Allowing Longer Workdays in Specific Situations Government Building The Greek legislature has approved a disputed work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and countrywide protests. Government officials claimed the law will revamp the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity." Key Provisions of the New Labor Law Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before. The government emphasizes that the extended shift is voluntary, solely affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year. Political Backing and Opposition Thursday's vote was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left party – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained. Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and public services to a standstill. Government Defense and Employee Safeguards The Labor Minister supported the bill, saying the reforms align national legislation with current employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens. These regulations will give workers the option to take on additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing overtime. The measure follows European Union working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but allow adjustments over a year, according to the government. Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions However, critics have charged the administration of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say local workers already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties." A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation." Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a bid to stimulate economic growth. New laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as instead of forty. EU Labor Data and Greek Economic Metrics Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8). The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat. As of January 2025, the nation's national base pay was 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 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show. The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.