🔗 Share this article Greece Passes Debated Labor Legislation Authorizing 13-Hour Working Days in Specific Situations Government Building Greece's legislature has approved a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, despite fierce resistance and nationwide strike actions. Government officials stated the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity." Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is capped at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek stays unchanged. The government maintains that the extended workday is optional, only applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually. Parliamentary Backing and Opposition The recent ballot was supported by MPs from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently 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 recently that halted public transport and public services to a stop. Official Defense and Worker Protections The Labor Minister supported the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line Greek laws with current labor-market realities, and alleged critics of misinforming the citizens. The laws will give workers the choice to accept extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours. The measure follows EU labor rules, which cap the mean workweek to 48 hours counting overtime but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the administration. Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Responses But, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet." A major labor organization said variable shifts in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor." Previous Workplace Reforms and Economic Background In 2024, the country introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth. New laws, which started at the start of the summer, permit workers to labor up to forty-eight hours in a week as opposed to forty. European Work Data and Greek Financial Metrics Across the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania. The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat. 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 EU countries. Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August compared with an European mean of 5.9%, figures from the statistical office show. Greece is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.