🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a contentious work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide strike actions.

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

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

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

Political Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – now the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, stating the reforms align national laws with modern labor-market realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will provide workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

This complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean week to 48 hours including overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

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

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, 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 reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.