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Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, despite fierce opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will update Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials emphasizes that the longer shift is elective, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – now the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the changes align national laws with modern labor-market realities, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This follows EU labor regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, critics have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say local workers currently put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Background

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the summer, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.