🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a hotly debated labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce resistance and nationwide protests.

Government officials stated the measure will modernize Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

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

Officials emphasizes that the extended shift is elective, solely affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

Thursday's vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative party, with the moderate party – currently the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive group did not vote.

Labor unions have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current employment realities, and accused critics of misleading the citizens.

The laws will give workers the option to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for declining extra hours.

This complies with European Union labor regulations, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

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

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allow employees to labor up to forty-eight hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is improving since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.