Greece Enacts Debated Labor Law Authorizing Extended Workdays in Specific Situations

Government Building

The Greek legislature has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes extended-length work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, annual extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week stays unchanged.

Officials maintains that the longer shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – now the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern employment realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

The measure complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Changes and Economic Background

In 2024, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for specific sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.