Greece Enacts Disputed Labor Legislation Permitting Longer Working Days in Specific Situations

Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that permits extended-length work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide strike actions.

Government officials asserted the measure will modernize the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week stays unchanged.

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

Political Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and public services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, saying the changes bring in line national laws with current labor-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give employees the option to take on additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

This complies with EU labor regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours including extra hours but permit flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

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

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

European Work Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's official minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.