Expert committee presents report on flexicurity in the labour market

A special Expert Committee has submitted a study on the new challenges in labour legislation and employment on the basis of the questions posed by the European Commission’s 2006 Green Paper on modernising labour law.

In March 2007, a special Expert Committee was set up by decision of the Minister of Employment and Social Protection, with the task of designing a study on the new challenges in labour legislation and employment on the basis of the questions posed by the European Commission in its November 2006 Green Paper on Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Committee reached a conclusion entitled ‘ Interim report of the Committee on Combining Flexibility with Security’ which it submitted in January 2008. In this, the Committee addressed a number of matters and formed some proposals.

Economically dependent self-employed

So-called bogus self-employment is an expression of the phenomenon of ‘illegal flexibility’ which is extremely widespread in Greece. The report proposes putting into place the category of ‘economically dependent self-employed’ workers and extending the guarantees of labour legislation to this new category, either in the form of transferring them as they stand or adapting rights, particularly with regard to: workplace health and safety; organisation and participation in trade union activities; the ability to conclude collective labour agreements; recognition of the right to strike; the overall minimum wage; payment of part of insurance contributions by the employer/customer; and provision for payment of compensation upon termination of the collaboration with the employer/customer.

Undeclared work

In order to address the phenomenon of undeclared work that is reported to be rife in the Greek labour market, the report proposes that ‘one-stop shops’ be set up, enabling enterprises to apply to and deal with a single ‘networked’ administrative department. It is hoped that this will minimise the phenomenon where, for example, enterprises exist for the Internal Revenue Service but not for the Social Insurance Foundation (Ίδρυμα Κοινωνικών Ασφαλίσεων, IKA).

Another of the report’s proposals is to increase the operational capacity of the Corps of Labour Inspectors (Σώμα Επιθεώρησης Εργασίας, SEPE), so that can conduct more systematic controls.

Part-time employment

In Greece the proportion of registered part-time employment is low compared to the EU average (5.7% compared to 18.1%). However, the rate of involuntary part-time employment was particularly high in 2006 (44% compared to the EU average of 16%, according to Eurostat data). One of the report’s proposals was to put into place a general clause establishing the principle of non-discrimination between part-time and full-time workers (at present there are only fragmentary regulations), to recognise total years of part-time employment as years of regular service and to recognise the right of part-time workers to take priority in all internal hiring to full-time jobs.

Working time

The statutory framework in Greece enables enterprises to employ workers for up to a total of 45 hours per week (i.e. nine hours a day) and in certain cases for another eight hours (in violation of the five-day week), without incurring high costs. Furthermore, a system of mixed (quarterly) or annual working time organisation arrangements is provided for by law. The Committee proposes that collective labour agreements and collective autonomy play a more important part in regulating overtime and agreeing on working time arrangements, and that use be made of the ability given to the social partners to conclude collective arrangements provided by Community Directives (such as the 2003 Working Time Directive).

Dismissals

The report comments on and issues proposals on the subject of dismissals, including the following:

• it points out that there is lack of adequate supplementary measures to alleviate the consequences of job loss and to facilitate re-integration in the labour market, which does not permit any discussion on reduction of severance pay

• the difference in severance pay for white-collar and blue-collar workers has been decreased through collective labour agreements, but there is still substantial room for further improvement

• the right to severance pay in the event of a voluntary change of employer should be maintained (at present workers receive severance pay only in the event of dismissal) on the model of the Austrian arrangement, so as to facilitate worker mobility

• the question of introducing the principle of reasoned termination should be placed in the framework of the social dialogue (at present employment contracts may be terminated without statement of reasons), making the legality of termination of open-ended employment contracts dependent on objective reasons adequately justifying such termination.

Commentary

The report touches on a range of questions regarding the Greek labour market and its objective is to give impetus for the submission of more specific proposals both from the government and from the social partners.

Sofia Lampousaki, Labour Institute of Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE/GSEE)