The Greek Parliament Enacts Disputed Workplace Legislation Authorizing Longer Working Days in Certain Situations

Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a disputed work legislation that authorizes extended-length working days, despite strong resistance and nationwide protests.

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

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is also at one hundred and fifty 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 exclusively be used for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate party – now the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests demanding the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, saying the reforms bring in line Greek laws with current employment realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will provide employees the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows European Union labor rules, which limit the mean workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, critics have charged the government of weakening employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

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 legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Background

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

New laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

EU Work Statistics and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's official base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.