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Government Building

Greece's parliament has ratified a hotly debated work legislation that permits 13-hour working days, despite widespread opposition and countrywide strike actions.

The administration stated the measure will update the country's labor regulations, but critics from the left-wing party labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the New Labor Law

Under the freshly approved legislation, yearly overtime is also at 150 hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek stays unchanged.

Officials maintains that the extended workday is optional, only applies to the private sector, and can only be implemented for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right political group, with the moderate party – now the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the left-wing group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Protections

A senior official defended the legislation, saying the reforms bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the citizens.

These regulations will provide workers the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

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

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Reactions

But, critics have accused the administration of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Labor Changes and Economic Context

Last year, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to boost economic growth.

Recent legislation, which started at the start of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Work Statistics and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the highest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria (39.0), Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to EU statistics.
• As of this year, the nation's national minimum wage stood at nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had reached a high at 28% during the economic downturn, was 8.1% in August versus an EU average of 5.9%, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which ended in recent years, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the EU.