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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length work shifts, in the face of widespread opposition and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the measure will update the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place.

Officials maintains that the extended shift is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate faction – now the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group did not vote.

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

Government Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, claiming the reforms align Greek laws with modern employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Labor Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the European Union.