This country has started a 13-hour working day. here’s why

Greek The government has passed a Law personal permission employers To increase shifts to 13 hours per day in terms of “flexibility” and “growth”. It is marketed as voluntary and fair pay, but effectively eliminates the standard eight-hour day, despite survey data that workers overwhelmingly oppose it.

But while critics question its legality, technically it complies with European UnionWorking time instructions. For many, especially in hospitality, it merely formalizes what already exists: long hours, low pay, little rest.

The reform reflects a broader European and global shift toward unregulated work. And it proves that the fight for shorter hours is far from over, as I explain in a chapter of the upcoming book Global Futures of Work: A Critical Introduction.

Following the victory of Greek workers for the eight-hour working day in 1936, the country has now reached the point where Greeks are again among the highest working people in Europe. Data from the European Union’s statistics office and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show full-time Employee Log around 1,900 hours per year, compared to 1,510 in the UK and 1,330 in Germany.

Weekly hours add up to an average of 41–42, the highest in the EU. Yet wages and productivity remain low. This paradox of working more but earning less reflects a regime focused on labor intensification and wage suppression, weak collective bargaining, and precarious jobs.

since 2005, Greece has loosened its working time arrangements as part of “flexibility” reforms. a 2005 Law Daily shifts were allowed to be extended by two hours, another change in 2021 redefined overtime, while a third law two years later revived the six-day week.

And now the Fair Work for All bill allows 13-hour days on a “voluntary” basis. Together, these measures eliminated the eight-hour norm, replacing collective bargaining with people’s needs. employers,

The Greek government claims workers want longer days, but the evidence suggests otherwise. The campaign to increase working hours masks a refusal to increase real wages and household incomes. Since the financial crisis of 2008–09, GDP has shrunk by 27% and remains below pre-crisis levels, while household disposable income has declined by 35 percentage points.

Even the recent minimum wage increase (a 6% increase to €880 (£775) per week for full-time workers) offers no real gains in purchasing power, leaving workers poorer than before the crisis. Instead of higher wages, the government’s solution is longer days – increasing time off when it can’t increase income.

A survey conducted by the Greek Labor Institute earlier this year found that 94% of workers support shorter hours without pay cuts, and almost 60% reject 13-hour days outright. Of those who are already working such hours, 70% say the “voluntary” label is meaningless, with employees forced to work these hours to make ends meet.

For many people, the new law simply confirms the more work they already face. For others, it represents a return to the 19th century. The wave of nationwide strikes demanding its repeal raises an obvious question. If workers reject it, and EU law supposedly guarantees the contrary, how can the measure pass?

EU – protector or supporter?

Most opposition parties questioned the legality of the 13-hour working day under EU law, but the EU Working Time Directive itself provides a loophole. It prescribes a 48-hour weekly average and 11 hours of daily rest, yet places no limits on daily hours.

Member states may allow opt-outs, allowing workers to “voluntarily” work over the limit, effectively legalizing overwork. In response to Greek MEPs, the European Commission confirmed GreeceThe reform follows EU regulations. It acknowledged that the Directive allows for a 13-hour working day if a weekly average of 48 hours is met over the four-month reference period. This is presented as “employee safety”, but this logic allows for tiredness now, rest later.

The UK government’s rebuke of South Cambridgeshire District Council for trialling a four-day working week shows that opposition to shorter hours is hardly unique to Greece. In advanced economies, long working hours have been normalized.

And NHS staff reportedly worked more than 1 million hours of unpaid overtime every week before the pandemic. By 2025, it is claimed that 7.5 million extra working hours will be added every week to the NHS workforce due to inefficiencies and delays.

Amazon employees in the US work ten-hour shifts a week and 55-hour shifts during peak season, a similar pattern in the UK. Amazon said its work patterns offer flexible career opportunities and that its employees were the “heart and soul” of its operations. Another specific tech company takes a similar stance: Google’s Sergey Brin actually called for a 60-hour week.

The pressure to increase working hours is not an anomaly in Greece, but part of a broader trend across advanced economies – the normalization of more work in the name of flexibility and growth.

Workers are expected to adapt by blurring the boundaries between work and life. Greece’s 13-hour day is not a symbol of progress but a retreat from hard-won labor rights. And it threatens to undo historic victories over working conditions in the pursuit of further increases in productivity and profits.