🔗 Share this article

Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a disputed work legislation that permits extended-length working days, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials stated the measure will revamp Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the longer workday is optional, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left party – now the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, saying the reforms align Greek laws with modern employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

This complies with European Union working-time regulations, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Context

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, allow workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.