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The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed labor reform that enables 13-hour working days, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will update Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard forty-hour week continues as before.

Officials maintains that the extended shift is optional, only affects the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Backing and Resistance

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

Labor unions have staged two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national laws with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misleading the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

This complies with European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours counting overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Responses

However, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say local workers currently put in more time than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's official minimum wage stood at €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.