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The Greek parliament has approved a disputed labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of widespread opposition and countrywide strike actions.

The administration claimed the law will revamp the country's work laws, but critics from the left-wing faction described it as a "harmful law."

Main Provisions of the New Work Legislation

According to the freshly approved law, annual extra hours is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the extended workday is elective, only applies to the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Support and Resistance

Thursday's ballot was backed by lawmakers from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – now the main resistance – rejecting the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

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

Government Justification and Employee Protections

A senior official supported the bill, stating the changes align national laws with modern employment conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give employees the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be fired for declining extra hours.

The measure follows EU labor regulations, which cap the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow flexibility over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Viewpoints and Union Responses

However, critics have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue Greek workers currently put in more time than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the eight-hour day, the disruption of personal time and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Economic Background

Last year, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

New laws, which came into effect at the start of July, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Labor Data and National Financial Indicators

• 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 (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands (32.1), as per Eurostat.
• As of this year, Greece's national minimum wage was €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier 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 EU average of 5.9%, data from Eurostat show.
• The country is improving since its prolonged debt crisis, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.