Greece Approves Debated Labor Law Permitting Extended Workdays in Specific Situations

Government Building

The Greek legislature has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that permits extended-length working days, despite fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

The administration stated the law will modernize Greek work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted law, yearly overtime is also at 150 hours, while the standard 40-hour week continues as before.

Officials insists that the extended workday is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can only be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent vote was backed by MPs from the governing conservative party, with the moderate faction – now the primary opposition – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister supported the legislation, saying the changes bring in line national legislation with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

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

The measure complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the mean week to forty-eight hours counting extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Labor Reactions

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

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

Last year, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a bid to stimulate the economy.

New laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow workers to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and National Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the European Union.