🔗 Share this article Greece Approves Controversial Workplace Legislation Permitting Extended Working Days in Specific Situations Government Building The Greek legislature has given the green light a contentious work legislation that enables 13-hour working days, despite fierce opposition and countrywide strike actions. Government officials claimed the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity." Main Elements of the New Labor Law Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place. Officials insists that the extended workday is elective, solely applies to the private sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year. Parliamentary Backing and Resistance The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the moderate faction – now the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group did not vote. Labor unions have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that brought public transport and public services to a stop. Government Defense and Employee Protections The Labor Minister defended the bill, claiming the changes align national laws with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public. The laws will give employees the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for refusing extra hours. The measure follows EU labor rules, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the administration. Opposition Perspectives and Union Reactions However, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet." A major labor organization said variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor." Previous Labor Changes and Financial Context In 2024, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to boost the economy. New laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to 40. European Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators Across the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8). The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, according to EU statistics. Starting this year, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations. Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate. The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.