Exhausted employees don’t want it – so why has Greece introduced a 13-hour work day?

>The Greek government has passed a law allowing private employers to extend shifts to 13 hours per day, framed in terms of “flexibility” and “growth”. It’s marketed as voluntary and fairly paid, but effectively it dismantles the standard eight-hour day, despite survey data showing workers overwhelmingly oppose it.

>But while critics question its legality, technically it does comply with the [European Union’s](https://theconversation.com/topics/european-union-eu-539) working time directive. For many, especially in hospitality, it simply formalises what already exists: long hours, low pay, little rest.

>The reform mirrors a broader European and global shift towards deregulated work. Since 2005, Greece has loosened its working time regime under “flexibility” reforms. And now the fair work for all bill permits 13-hour days on a “voluntary” basis. Together, these measures have eroded the eight-hour norm, substituting collective bargaining for the needs of employers.

>The Greek government claims that workers want longer days, but the evidence suggests otherwise. The drive to extend working hours masks a refusal to raise real wages and household income. Since the 2008-09 financial crisis, GDP has [shrunk by 27%](https://www.levyinstitute.org/publications/working-harder-paying-less-wage-suppression-in-greece/) and remains below pre-crisis levels, while household disposable income has fallen by 35 percentage points.

>A survey earlier this year by the Greek [labour institute](https://www.ot.gr/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/7293_%CE%95%CE%A1%CE%95%CE%A5%CE%9D%CE%91.pdf) found that 94% of workers support shorter hours with no pay cut, and nearly 60% reject a 13-hour day outright. Among those already working such hours, 70% say the “voluntary” label is meaningless, with workers forced to put in these hours to make ends meet.

>The push to extend working hours is not an anomaly in Greece, but part of a broader trend across advanced economies – the normalisation of overwork in the name of flexibility and growth.

>Workers are expected to adapt, erasing boundaries between work and life. Greece’s 13-hour day doesn’t mark progress but a retreat from hard-won labour rights. And it threatens to undo historic victories on working conditions in pursuit of further productivity increases and profits.

>Exhausted employees don’t want it – so why has Greece introduced a 13-hour work day?

Γιατί, ρώτησε κανείς ποτέ από την κυβέρνηση τους εργαζόμενους τι θέλουν;

ξερει κανεις κανεναν που να δουλευει 13ωρο περα απο σεζον που οπως και να χει τα δουλευαν μαυρα? Πολυ ραδιο αρβυλα ολο αυτο το νομοσχεδιο

Απλό, τη κυβέρνηση ΔΕ την βγάζουν οι κοινοί εργαζόμενοι, αλλά υπάλληλοι σε ψηλά πόστα, εργοδότες, κομματόσκυλα, ηλικιωμένοι και ηλίθιοι.

Γι’αυτό λέω συνέχεια, ψηφίστε. Ψάξτε θέσεις, δείτε τι λένε (όχι τι λένε άλλοι για αυτούς), τις θέσεις τους σε θέματα που σας απασχολούν κλπ και σαν σωστοί ενήλικες, ψηφίστε.