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Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration stated the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved law, yearly extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer workday is elective, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – now the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, saying the reforms align national laws with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide workers the option to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

This follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Context

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

New legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long financial troubles, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.