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Government Building

Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that enables 13-hour working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials stated the measure will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

The government emphasizes that the longer workday is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days each year.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right party, with the centre-left faction – now the main resistance – voting against the legislation, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the law's repeal this month that brought public transport and services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the reforms align Greek legislation with current employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will give workers the choice to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while ensuring they cannot be fired for declining overtime.

The measure complies with EU working-time rules, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek employees already work longer hours than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to boost the economy.

New laws, which started at the beginning of July, permit employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and National Economic Metrics

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, the nation's national base pay stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the EU.