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Government Building

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

The administration asserted the law will modernize Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

Officials maintains that the extended shift is elective, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate party – now the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that halted transportation and public services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, claiming the changes align Greek legislation with modern employment conditions, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining overtime.

This follows EU labor regulations, which limit the average workweek to forty-eight hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue local employees already work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Changes and Economic Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of 40.

European Work Data and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the EU.