🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite strong opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration stated the measure will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week stays unchanged.

The government insists that the longer shift is voluntary, only affects the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – now the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal recently that halted public transport and services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, stating the reforms align Greek laws with modern labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

The measure complies with European Union labor rules, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local 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 end of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.