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The Greek legislature has approved a contentious work legislation that permits extended-length working days, in the face of widespread resistance and nationwide strike actions.

Government officials claimed the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but critics from the progressive party described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Elements of the New Labor Law

Under the newly enacted legislation, annual extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the standard forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

The government maintains that the extended shift is voluntary, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Political Backing and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate faction – currently the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and services to a standstill.

Government Defense and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the bill, saying the changes align Greek laws with modern labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide employees the option to take on extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This follows EU labor regulations, which limit the average week to forty-eight hours including overtime but permit flexibility over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Reactions

However, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the nation back to a medieval work era." They say local employees currently work longer hours than most Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

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

Previous Workplace Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day working week for certain industries in a attempt to boost the economy.

New legislation, which started at the start of the summer, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and National Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest average hours were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, the nation's official minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office 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.