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Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a disputed work legislation that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials claimed the measure will update Greek work laws, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the extended shift is optional, only applies to the business sector, and can only be implemented for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the main resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing party did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official defended the bill, claiming the reforms align national laws with modern employment realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the public.

These regulations will provide employees the option to accept extra work with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This complies with EU labor regulations, which cap the mean week to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees already put in more time than most EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Background

Last year, the country introduced a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a bid to boost the economy.

New laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Work Data and National Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.