Greece Enacts Debated Workplace Legislation Allowing 13-Hour Working Days in Certain Situations

Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a contentious work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, in the face of fierce resistance and countrywide strike actions.

The administration asserted the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government maintains that the longer shift is voluntary, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – now the primary resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes bring in line national legislation with current employment realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which limit the mean week to 48 hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Responses

But, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

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

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Across the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer versus an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.