Greece Approves Disputed Labor Legislation Authorizing Longer Working Days in Certain Situations

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite widespread resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials stated the law will update Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

The government maintains that the extended shift is voluntary, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

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

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the reforms align national laws with modern employment conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This complies with EU working-time rules, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

However, critics have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Background

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

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

European Work Statistics and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the highest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.