Greece Implements Controversial New Labor Law

Greece’s government has introduced a new labor bill containing radical reforms to working hours, hiring and firing procedures, and employment contract structures.

According to the Greek government, the bill’s main objective is to modernize labor practices and streamline bureaucratic processes. However, the new plan has already sparked debate about its potential impact on worker protection.

The Ministry of Labor’s bill will be put out for public consultation in the coming days. However, its submission and vote in Parliament have been postponed until September.

The bill’s eight pillars

First pillar: Easy and Fast Recruitment

• It allows the recruitment announcement to be completed with one document instead of the four currently required.
• A centralized digital file will be created for each employee, and notifications will be sent via the myErgani app. (a digital application used in Greece for managing employment data and related processes)
• A mobile app similar to myErgani will be created for employers for the first time. All labor relations issues will be managed through this app.
• Staff can be recruited quickly via a mobile app for urgent business needs lasting up to two days.

Second pillar: Reducing bureaucracy

• The bill abolishes forms containing information that has already been submitted to the ERGANI II Information System (a digital platform used in Greece for managing employment data and related processes), such as the leave register, annual leave table, and annual staff table.
• Employers will no longer be required to keep documents stored electronically in paper form.
• Policies on the prevention of violence, harassment, and internal complaints will be harmonized.
• Practical issues relating to the Digital Work Card are addressed.

Third Pillar: Modernization of Labor Provisions

• Under certain conditions, an employee may now work up to 13 hours per day for two or more employers. The same option is available to employees working for a single employer, provided that rest periods and maximum weekly working hours are strictly adhered to, and statutory overtime pay is paid.
• Overtime is also permitted for shift work, with overtime pay amounting to 40%.

Fourth pillar: Support for Employees

One of the bill’s objectives is to promote work-life balance. With this in mind, the following changes are introduced:

• The option of a four-day workweek throughout the year (instead of just one semester) is introduced, which will benefit working parents in particular.
• A reduction in remuneration immediately after the introduction of the Digital Work Card will be considered a unilateral detrimental change.
• The maternity/paternity allowance will be extended to cases involving more than one insurance fund or employer.
• The parental leave allowance is guaranteed to be tax-free, non-transferable, and non-seizable.
• The postnatal portion of maternity leave is extended to foster mothers.
• Employees have greater freedom in allocating annual leave in consultation with their employer.
• Employees may voluntarily leave ERGANI II on their own initiative.

Fifth pillar: Strengthening health and safety at work

To strengthen accident prevention and safety, a set of provisions is introduced that provides, among other things, that:

• Recommendations from the occupational physician and safety technician are recorded exclusively in writing, and the recommendations book is kept electronically to facilitate checks.
• Depending on their size, technical projects must now have health and safety coordinators to prevent workplace accidents.
• The limit of employees below which employers can perform safety technician duties themselves is reduced from 50 to 20.
• The company emphasizes providing first aid training, including CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, to employees.
• The roles of the Employee Health and Safety Committees (EYAE) and the Internal Protection and Prevention Services (ESYPP) are strengthened.
• Companies are classified into risk categories, and the specializations of safety technicians are updated (they had remained unchanged since the 1980s).
• Necessary measurements may be assigned directly to the EYAE, universities, and research institutions.
• Recording occupational diseases is upgraded with the establishment of relevant recognition criteria.
• The Integrated Information System, “Iridanos,” is created to document and monitor health and safety issues.

Sixth Pillar: Harmonization with ILO International Labor Conventions

• The bill ratifies three significant ILO (International Labor Organization) instruments, strengthening the country’s adherence to global standards.

Seventh Pillar: Functional Strengthening of the Labor Inspectorate

• The bill establishes a stricter framework to protect Labor Inspectors from violence and obstruction of their duties.
• The framework for travel and recognition of overnight expenses is being modernized to strengthen inspections in island areas.
• Organizational changes are being introduced to optimize the Inspectorate’s functioning by strengthening its services, structures, procedures, and human resources.

Eighth Pillar: Social Security Provisions

The bill includes provisions aimed at greater transparency, flexibility, and protection for pensioners and workers. In particular, it provides that:

• The recent exemption from social security contributions for overtime, night work, and public holidays is extended to surcharges provided for in collective labor agreements and to surcharges granted voluntarily by the employer.
• If a retired employee is entitled to a pension supplement, it will not lead to an increase in the Pensioners’ Solidarity Contribution (EAS) rate.
• Pensioner organizations may vote by mail.
• The Seamen’s Pension Fund (NAT) has established an Internal Audit Unit and an Independent Integrity Advisor’s Office.

Reactions from opposition parties

Following the presentation of the bill, which will be put up for consultation in a few days, PASOK’s (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas stressed that “13-hour workdays legalize overtime, which has been illegal until now,” explaining, “When eight plus five hours are set for two employers, what is the rationale?”

“If I am an employee and want to increase my income, I am free to do so by drawing up another contract. The law formally gives employees the right to refuse if asked to work 13 hours, but we know that, in practice, things are different. Therefore, what is happening is the further flexibilization of work, a reduction in the cost of overtime, and flexibility in shift work.”

Tsoukalas also referenced Law 4808/2021, which stated that “in order for an employee to work a ten-hour shift, they must request it themselves,” and pointed out that “now, with the change that has been made, they simply have to agree to the employer’s request. Everyone understands that it is not easy for an employee to refuse an employer’s request. What purpose does this change serve?” the representative asked.

“The new bill creates constraints beyond free will, moving toward more flexible labor relations. As long as any employee can be unjustly dismissed, none of this can be controlled, even if there is the intention to do so. With this bill, the New Democracy government is investing in a model of low productivity, flexible labor relations, and cheap employment,” Tsoukalas emphasized.

SYRIZA: Another Regulation That Abolishes Labor Rights

SYRIZA’s (Coalition of the Radical Left) Labor and Social Security spokesman, Giorgos Gavrilos, reacted immediately. He said: “The Minister of Labor, Ms. Kerameos, and the Deputy Minister, Mr. Karagounis, have once again remained faithful to the line of ‘fewer labor rights—more profits for the few.’ The new bill continues this government’s anti-labor policy of more working hours with schedules that exceed the European target of 35 hours.

“The new bill continues this government’s anti-labor policy of longer working hours, schedules that exceed the European target of 35 hours, unpaid overtime, the liberalization of dismissals, and precarious and flexible forms of employment. It also restricts trade union action and pays starvation wages,” Giorgos Gavrilos added.

“All this is being done in the name of supposed ‘facilitation’ of entrepreneurship and ‘development’ that never reaches the world of work or real society”. Gavrilos also accuses the government of focusing “on filling Greece with cheap and flexible labor.”

“The government must answer us: Does it really believe that by extending the 13th month and fully legalizing unpaid overtime and flexible work depending on what suits businesses, it is providing prospects for every worker trying to support their family amidst the harsh social conditions of austerity imposed by the New Democracy party?

“Or does it believe that this will make our country’s labor market more attractive to young people who have left to work abroad?” Mr. Gavrilos continues by arguing that this bill “turns a blind eye to employer lawlessness and labor exploitation while creating workers who are fearful for their survival and impoverished in terms of wages and physical well-being.”

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!