🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek legislature has approved a contentious labor reform that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread resistance and countrywide protests.

The administration stated the law will revamp the country's labor regulations, but critics from the progressive faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the New Labor Law

According to the newly enacted law, annual overtime is also at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials emphasizes that the longer shift is voluntary, solely affects the private sector, and can only be applied for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – now the primary resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that halted transportation and public services to a standstill.

Official Justification and Employee Safeguards

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

The laws will provide employees the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for increased pay, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure follows European Union working-time rules, which limit the mean week to 48 hours counting extra hours but permit flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, critics have accused the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They say local employees currently put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Changes and Financial Context

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

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Work Data and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania.
• The lowest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, the nation's national base pay stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at twenty-eight percent during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August versus an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but wages and quality of life remain among the lowest in the EU.