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Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length working days, despite widespread resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials stated the measure will revamp Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, yearly overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

The government emphasizes that the extended workday is optional, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – now the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

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

Official Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, stating the reforms align Greek laws with current labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This follows EU working-time rules, which limit the mean week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

However, critics have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Labor Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

EU Work Data and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.