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Government Building

The Greek parliament has approved a contentious work legislation that enables extended-length working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

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

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – now the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official defended the legislation, saying the changes align Greek legislation with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will provide employees the choice to take on additional hours with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This follows European Union labor regulations, which cap the average week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Background

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

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's national base pay stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.