Employees of private businesses that offer 24/7 services will have the option of working an additional two hours per day or an additional eight-hour shift under the new legislation, which was enacted as part of a broader set of labor laws last year.
A traditional 40-hour workweek could be extended to 48 hours for some businesses. The law does not impact workers in the food and tourism industry, per NBC News.
The measure is claimed to be "worker-friendly" by the pro-business government of Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who said the law is intended to address the issue of undeclared labor and to provide assistance to employees who are not receiving adequate compensation for overtime work.
However, the decision has been met with severe criticism from labor unions and political observers.
Greece workers already work more than those in the 27-member EU, as well as the US and Japan, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In 2022, Greek employees worked an average of 1,886 hours, which was higher than the US average of 1,811 and the EU average of 1,571, per the data.
John O'Brennan, professor of EU Law from Ireland's Maynooth University, wrote on X: "Greek people already work the longest hours per week in Europe. Now they may be forced to work a sixth day, after this Greek decision."
"It is ridiculous, set against the move to four day weeks in most civilized countries," he added.
Giorgos Katsambekis, an economics and political lecturer at UK's Loughborough University, called the move a "major step back," according to the network.
