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Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a contentious work legislation that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce resistance and nationwide strike actions.

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

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved law, annual extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government maintains that the longer workday is optional, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently the primary opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the bill, saying the changes align national legislation with current labor-market realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide employees the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This complies with EU working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.