🔗 Share this article

Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that permits 13-hour working days, despite fierce opposition and countrywide protests.

The administration claimed the law will modernize the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is also at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week stays unchanged.

The government insists that the extended workday is elective, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was backed by MPs from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left faction – now the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Government Defense and Employee Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the changes align Greek legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which cap the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees currently put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Statistics and National Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.