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The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed work legislation that enables extended-length working days, in the face of strong opposition and countrywide protests.

Government officials asserted the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Main Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

The government maintains that the extended workday is optional, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to 37 days each year.

Parliamentary Support and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative political group, with the moderate faction – now the primary resistance – voting against the legislation, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that brought transportation and public services to a standstill.

Government Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the bill, stating the reforms align national laws with modern employment conditions, and alleged opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will give workers the choice to take on extra work with the current company for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with EU working-time regulations, which limit the mean workweek to 48 hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Labor Reactions

However, critics have charged the administration of weakening employee protections and "pushing the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek employees currently work longer hours than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of excessive labor."

Recent Workplace Reforms and Economic Context

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

New legislation, which started at the start of July, permit workers to labor up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to forty.

EU Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union 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, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of 5.9%, data from Eurostat indicate.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards continue to be among the poorest in the European Union.