🔗 Share this article The Greek Parliament Passes Disputed Labor Law Permitting 13-Hour Working Days in Specific Cases Government Building Greece's parliament has ratified a disputed work legislation that authorizes 13-hour work shifts, despite widespread resistance and countrywide protests. The administration asserted the law will revamp the country's labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction labeled it as a "harmful law." Main Elements of the New Labor Law According to the newly enacted law, yearly extra hours is capped at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week continues as before. Officials insists that the extended workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year. Parliamentary Support and Opposition The recent vote was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – currently the main opposition – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing party did not vote. Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the law's repeal this month that brought public transport and services to a stop. Government Defense and Worker Safeguards The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line national legislation with current employment conditions, and accused critics of misleading the citizens. The laws will give workers the choice to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours. The measure complies with EU working-time rules, which cap the average week to 48 hours counting overtime but allow flexibility over a year, according to the government. Opposition Viewpoints and Labor Reactions But, critics have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek employees currently put in more time than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet." The public-sector union said variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation." Recent Workplace Changes and Financial Context In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate the economy. Recent laws, which started at the beginning of July, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a week as instead of 40. EU Work Data and National Economic Metrics Across the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania. The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat. Starting this year, Greece's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations. Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate. The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards remain among the poorest in the EU.