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Government Building

Greece's legislature has ratified a contentious labor reform that enables extended-length working days, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the measure will revamp Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government insists that the extended workday is elective, only affects the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the law's repeal this month that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official defended the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will give workers the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for refusing overtime.

This complies with European Union working-time regulations, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers already put in more time than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day working week for specific sectors in a attempt to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.