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Greece's parliament has given the green light a hotly debated labor reform that authorizes 13-hour working days, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration claimed the measure will revamp the country's labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Provisions of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is also at one hundred and fifty hours, while the standard 40-hour week stays unchanged.

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

Parliamentary Support and Opposition

The recent ballot was supported by lawmakers from the governing conservative political group, with the centre-left faction – currently the main resistance – rejecting the legislation, while the progressive party abstained.

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

Official Defense and Worker Protections

A senior official defended the bill, stating the changes align Greek legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will give workers the option to take on additional hours with the current company for increased compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be fired for declining extra hours.

This follows European Union working-time rules, which cap the mean week to 48 hours including extra hours but permit adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the administration.

Opposition Perspectives and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have accused the administration of eroding employee protections and "pushing the country back to a medieval work era." They argue local workers currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "face financial difficulties."

The public-sector union stated variable shifts in reality mean "the abolition of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the legalisation of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Context

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

New legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow employees to work up to forty-eight hours in a week as instead of forty.

European Work Data and Greek Economic Indicators

• Across the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• As of January 2025, the nation's official base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at twenty-eight percent during the financial crisis, was eight point one percent in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from Eurostat indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the EU.