Greece Passes Debated Workplace Law Permitting Extended Working Days in Certain Situations

Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed labor reform that permits extended-length work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government maintains that the extended workday is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – now the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, stating the reforms bring in line Greek legislation with modern employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows European Union working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently work longer hours than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.