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Government Building

Greece's parliament has approved a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite strong resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place.

The government maintains that the longer workday is voluntary, only affects the business sector, and can only be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the primary opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, stating the reforms bring in line Greek legislation with current employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will give workers the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure complies with EU working-time regulations, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have charged the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers already put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Labor Statistics and National Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, the nation's national base pay 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 August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.