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Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a disputed labor reform that authorizes extended-length working days, despite widespread opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials asserted the measure will modernize the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the progressive faction labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved law, annual overtime is also at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek remains in place.

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

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

Thursday's ballot was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the moderate faction – now the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Defense and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister defended the bill, claiming the reforms align national legislation with modern employment realities, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

These regulations will give employees the choice to accept additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean workweek to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

But, opposition parties have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say local employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Background

Last year, the country introduced a six-day working week for specific sectors in a bid to stimulate economic growth.

New laws, which came into effect at the beginning of July, allow workers to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and National Economic Indicators

• Across the EU in the previous year, the longest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• As of January 2025, Greece's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.