Greece Approves Disputed Labor Law Authorizing 13-Hour Workdays in Certain Situations

Government Building

The Greek parliament has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce opposition and nationwide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will update Greek work laws, but opposition figures from the left-wing party labeled it as a "harmful law."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

According to the newly enacted law, annual overtime is limited at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials maintains that the longer shift is voluntary, solely applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be implemented for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by MPs from the ruling conservative political group, with the moderate faction – now the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Labor unions have organized two general strikes calling for the law's repeal recently that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Protections

The Labor Minister supported the bill, stating the reforms align Greek laws with current labor-market conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will give employees the choice to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be fired for refusing extra hours.

The measure follows European Union working-time regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over a year, according to the administration.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Responses

But, critics have accused the government of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They say Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Labor Reforms and Financial Background

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a bid to boost economic growth.

Recent laws, which came into effect at the start of the summer, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

European Labor Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The shortest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, Greece's official minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had reached a high at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in recent years, but wages and quality of life remain among the poorest in the EU.