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Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a contentious labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, in the face of strong resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will revamp Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Key Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before.

Officials insists that the longer workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was supported by lawmakers from the ruling centre-right political group, with the centre-left party – currently the main opposition – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, saying the reforms bring in line national laws with current employment realities, and accused critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide workers the option to accept additional hours with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

This complies with EU labor regulations, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local workers already work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Economic Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

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

EU Labor Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Across the EU in 2024, the longest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the poorest in the EU.