On Thursday, the Greek Parliament approved a bill presented by the conservative government that extends the working day in the private sector to a maximum of 13 hours a day, a reform that provoked harsh reactions from the unions and the left-wing opposition. The project was approved thanks to the votes in favor of the conservative New Democracy, the party with the largest absolute majority of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while the entire opposition voted against, except for the leftist Syriza which withdrew from the vote in order “not to legalize with its vote” what it called a “monstrous law”. The Government maintains that the 13-hour workday is optional, only affects the private sector, and can be applied for a maximum of 37 days a year.
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In the debate prior to the vote, the Minister of Labor, Niki Kerameos, defended the legislation after calling it a “positive and progressive” reform, which will increase jobs and expand the workers’ protection network.
“We must facilitate business development because without companies, jobs are not created and without companies, this country will never experience development,” the minister pointed out. Kerameos also stressed that, in addition to the extension of the working day, the legislation contemplates a series of measures that increases the protection of workers, such as the expansion of beneficiaries and maternity benefits. The Government highlights that, despite this extension, the maximum limit of 48 hours per week and 150 extra hours per year is maintained, and that working up to 13 hours will have a 40% bonus per extra hour. “The employer is explicitly prohibited from forcing you, firing you, or discriminating against you in any way,” Kerameos emphasized, in case the worker refuses to work those extra hours. The main opposition party, the social democrat Pasok, accused the Government this Wednesday of “taking the country back to the 19th century” in terms of labor rights. “The Government is promoting a society and a market without labor rights, in a supposed ‘normality’ where the welfare state is in constant deconstruction,” emphasized Yorgos Mulkiotis, a member of parliament from the party, during the parliamentary debate. On the past 1st and 14th of October, Greece experienced two general strikes that paralyzed the country, called by the main unions of the public and private sectors, ADEDY and GSEE, to demand that the Government withdraw the project. Unions call it a “lie” that the extension of the working day is “optional”, since, they argue that in the Greek labor market the worker has no bargaining power and the employer can fire the employee finding any other excuse, without having to justify it. Economists explain the measure by the lack of workers in the service and hospitality sector, especially during the summer tourist season. Mitsotakis’ government has transformed the Greek labor market into one of the most flexible in Europe. From July 2024, workers in industry, retail, agriculture, and some services are required to work six days a week if their employer demands it. The salary for that sixth day receives a 40% bonus. Workers in Greece work much more than in any other European country, with more than 1,886 hours a year, according to the European statistics agency, Eurostat, although they have lower productivity and the second-lowest purchasing power in the EU, just ahead of Bulgaria.
