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Government Building

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

Government officials stated the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted legislation, annual overtime is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

The government insists that the longer workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

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

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for increased pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing overtime.

The measure follows European Union working-time rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Reforms and Economic Context

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

New legislation, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• Starting January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.