The Greek Parliament Approves Debated Labor Law Allowing Extended Workdays in Certain Circumstances

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that enables extended-length work shifts, despite widespread resistance and nationwide strike actions.

The administration asserted the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government insists that the extended shift is optional, only affects the business sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate party – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Labor unions have staged multiple protests calling for the law's repeal recently that halted transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the reforms align national laws with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

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

This complies with EU working-time rules, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but permit flexibility over 12 months, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers already put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day working week for certain sectors in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as opposed to 40.

European Labor Statistics and National Financial Metrics

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the poorest in the EU.