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The Hot 13-Hour Work

Strong social and political pressure is coming from Greek society following the Greek parliament’s vote in favor of a new framework allowing up to 13-hour workdays. On October 16, 2025, the Greek parliament approved the regulation, with the government describing it as “modernizing” and an innovation in labor law. The unions unanimously denounce the new regulation as a return to a “labor Middle Ages.” Specifically, the provision allows private sector employees to work up to 13 hours a day, for a maximum of 37 days a year, with an additional 40% pay for overtime and the promise that participation remains “voluntary.”

This regulation was defended by Labor Minister Niki Kerameos, who argued that “the term ’13-hour working day’ is misleading” and that in practice “it will be applied in exceptional cases and only with the consent of the employee.” Of course, trade unions such as ADEDY (Supreme Administration of Civil Servants’ Unions) and GSEE (General Confederation of Greek Workers) criticize this, emphasizing and placing at the core of their argument that such a thing is not realistic, as the market is characterized by inadequate controls and power imbalances, and therefore so-called “voluntary” overtime is equivalent to providing a legal framework for coercing employers towards employees. The public sector, although not directly affected, was paralysed by two general strikes in the same month, while thousands of workers flooded Syntagma Square and Thessaloniki demanding the withdrawal of the law.

The New Democracy (center-right EP: Peoples Party) government of Mitsotakis presents the 13th hour as a tool of “flexibility” that can offer incentives to workers with multiple jobs to devote themselves to one employer with better pay. In an attempt to highlight the legitimacy of the measure, it cites compliance with European rules, according to which the maximum weekly working time – including overtime – must not exceed 48 hours. Despite the legal framework, such a regulation essentially weakens collective agreements and strengthens employer bargaining power, creating unequal conditions.

As Pavlos Geroulanos, a PASOK MP and senior party official, publicly stated on his Facebook page, the government is attempting to present as “flexibility” something that in practice translates into the dismantling of fixed working hours and the shifting of the cost of adjustment onto the backs of workers. He said that the minister’s reference to collective agreements providing for a 6-day or 13-hour working week proved to be inaccurate, as highlighted by the Federation of Insurance Associations of Greece itself. This reveals, as Geroulanos pointed out, a dangerous trend of political misinformation: the use of examples “as needed” to justify legislation that serves to concentrate power in the hands of employers, at the expense of employees.

 

The opposition, led by PASOK (center-left, EP: PES) and SYRIZA (left, EP: The Left), spoke of “legislating overwork” and “abolishing the eight-hour working day,” arguing that Greeks already work longer hours than most Europeans, while their incomes remain among the lowest in the EU. Indeed, according to Eurostat data, in 2024 Greece had the highest average weekly working hours in Europe — 39.8 hours, compared to the European average of 36 hours. At a time when many northern countries, such as the Netherlands and Denmark, are experimenting with a four-day working week and flexible working models, Greece has chosen to legislate for more work as a response to its productivity lag. Instead of strengthening collective representation and social dialogue, as the ministry could have done, this policy has led to the legalization of individualized bargaining at the expense of collective agreements. At the same time, it is inconceivable that the productive lag can be made up for with more pointless work, as it would be like a society trying to cure its economic fatigue with more fatigue.

The philosophy of European productivity

On the European horizon, according to Eurostat (May 2025), in 2024, Greeks worked an average of 39.8 hours per week, the highest rate in the European Union, surpassing Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8). At the same time, on the opposite side, the Dutch work only 32.1 hours, while the Danes and Austrians work 33.9 hours. The gap in these differences in hours reflects not only different labor markets, but also different philosophies about what “productivity” means.

In northern and western European countries, where strong institutions prevail, part-time employment and a four-day working week are part of a model that links reduced working hours with increased productivity and prosperity. In Greece, however, longer working hours are seen as a necessary evil to cover staff shortages, especially in seasonal sectors such as tourism and services, which could of course be addressed through sectoral agreements. At the same time, the government argues that the measure serves a “reality” where an aging population and a shortage of skilled workers are putting pressure on the market.

The available CEDEFOP data on the situation in Greece in relation to the European average do indeed show asymmetries: employment growth in Greece was only 1.3%, lower than the EU average (1.4%), while the percentage of highly skilled workers stands at 37.8%. The above indicates that the economy remains trapped in low value-added jobs when, at the same time, only 14.2% of the population participated in education or training programs, compared to an average of 54% in online job ads requiring high skills, revealing a gap between market requirements and available skills. This discrepancy partly explains why, despite the recovery after the debt crisis, Greece remains the second worst country in the EU in terms of purchasing power—beyond certain short-sighted failed policies—with almost half of its citizens struggling to meet their basic needs.

 

The wages of fatigue

While northern Europe is redefining the concept of work around efficiency, southern Europe—and Greece in particular—is reproducing it around endurance. One Europe works to live; the other lives to work. With the latter unable to absorb developments, for example in the decade 2014–2024, almost half of European countries reduced weekly working hours by more than one hour. This phenomenon is linked to the rise of part-time employment, the participation of more women in the labor market, and the shift towards the service sector, as reported by Euronews. European Commission researchers, analyzing trends over 30 years, also attribute the reduction in hours to technological progress, which is reshaping the nature of work rather than expanding it.

The Greek government, for its part, projects the image of a modern, investment-friendly state that responds to the needs of the labor market. However, this does not seem to be the case when unemployment remains at 8.1%, wages are below the European average, and almost one in five workers works more than 45 hours a week—such an arrangement does not promote a new type of productivity, nor does it benefit workers; it simply legitimises the existing overwork. Statistics confirm the above argument: Eurostat shows that Greek workers have the highest ratio of actual to regular working hours in the EU, with little or no difference between the two, which means that “overtime is already integrated into everyday life.” The self-employed, with 46.6 hours of weekly work, work on average more than salaried employees, confirming that the concept of “flexibility” ultimately translates into longer-term economic insecurity.

Behind the obvious promotion of an imbalance of power between employers and employees lies the deregulation of working hours and the disappearance of free time as a social good. Greece is the first EU country to legislate the 13-hour working day, but the question it raises is a pan-European one: how many hours does someone need to work to be considered “productive” — and how many hours can they bear to live?

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