🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials stated the measure will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

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

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

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently the primary opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, stating the reforms bring in line Greek laws with current labor-market realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees currently 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 practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

New legislation, which started at the start of July, allow workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.