2003 Annual Review for Greece

Source: Ministry of Labour and OMED (2004).

Pay

Based on the provisions of the 2002-3 National General Collective Agreement (EGSSE) (GR0204109F), wage increases stood at around 3.9% in 2003. A gradual rise in inflation led to increased wage claims, as workers sought compensation for the reduction in purchasing power. There was debate over the creation of a new pay scale for civil servants.

Working time

There were no significant changes to collectively agreed working time arrangements during 2003, and average collectively-agreed weekly working time remained at 40 hours. In December, the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) issued its demands for a new EGSSE to be signed in 2004, which - as in previous years - included reduction of weekly working time, with the ultimate goal of a 35-hour week (GR0402101N).

Job security

There were a number of high-profile examples of company restructuring in 2003, and in some cases these resulted in measures to assist the redundant workers. For example, following a large-scale redundancy at the Athenian Paper Mills SA (Softex) plant at Drama in late 2002 and early 2003, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of National Economy launched three new employment schemes for the workers left jobless (GR0304101N). The measures included employment creation and subsidy schemes and support for self-employment. Subsequently, in May 2003 a court ruled the dismissals of many of the workers at Athenian Paper Mills SA to be illegal, as redundancy legislation had not been observed. It stated that the workers were thus entitled to retroactive compensation for lost pay from the date they were made redundant in 2002 up to the date of the court ruling (GR0306101N).

Equal opportunities and diversity issues

There was little collective bargaining activity reported on equality of opportunity for women and men in 2003. The EGSSE for 2002-3 provided for more favourable conditions for single-parent families to obtain childcare leave and annual paid leave.

Training and skills developments

The most important development with regard to discussions between the social partners relating to vocational education and training was their involvement in debate over the creation of a new National System for Linking Vocational Education and Training to Employment (ESSEEKA) (see below under 'Legislative developments'). Overall, the social partners were prepared to accept this new regulatory framework for training, while stressing the need to link education and training mechanisms more effectively with the labour market.

Legislative developments

2003 was marked by a substantial level of legislative activity relating to employment, workplace health and safety and social security. In a number of cases, the introduction of new legislation was the result of transposing various EU Directives into national law. For example, in February, three new Presidential Decrees (PDs) were signed that aim to combat occupational hazards and improve health and safety conditions at work (GR0303102F) They seek to improve the protection of: workers during pregnancy and after confinement; workers exposed to carcinogenic agents; and workers potentially exposed to explosive atmospheres ( in compliance with EU Directive 1999/92/EC).

Also on health and safety, Article 9 of Law 3144 on 'social dialogue for the promotion of employment and social protection and other provisions' specifies that the duties of works doctors may only be performed by doctors who are specialists in industrial medicine - the previous regulatory framework allowed for such work to be carried out by suitably trained general practitioners and doctors who specialise in other areas of medicine (GR0304102F). Article 9 also provides for the extension of national legislation on workplace health and safety to apply to almost all the security forces and uniformed personnel of the armed forces. Article 6 of the same law made it possible for workers to receive annual paid leave on a proportional basis from the first day of employment.

Law 3191 on the National System to Link Vocational Education and Training to Employment (ESSEEKA) (GR0310103T) seeks to facilitate the process of connecting labour supply and demand, through an integrated system that registers the needs of the labour market at national and local level. It creates a framework for the operation and coordination of existing vocational education and training structures and includes the following basic features:

• the establishment of a National Council for Linking Vocational Education and Training to Employment- a tripartite statutory body with the aim of evaluating education and training systems;

• the creation of a system to investigate the real needs of the Greek labour market and to research and document the occupational structure at national, sectoral and local levels;

• the coordination of the three main training systems - relating to initial, technical and continuing training - in order to improve the occupational skills of the country’s workforce;

• an individualised approach to vocational guidance and the education and training services provided; and

• the creation of a 'unified vocational qualifications certification system' to certify vocational qualifications, regardless of the manner in which they were acquired.

Another important development in 2003 was the publication of a draft bill on the 'regulation of social security rules and other provisions'. Its purpose is to reinforce and supplement the existing legislative framework on social security, which, to a large degree, derives from the content of the Law 3029/2002 on the reform of the social security system. Important issues covered by draft bill relate to: the method of calculating and paying pensions to people entitled to transferable pensions insurance; the rules for acquiring entitlement to supplementary pensions and the lump sum paid to public servants; the social insurance coverage framework for agricultural workers and people with disabilities; and issues of an organisational and administrative nature, such as the selection criteria for the administrative boards of the social insurance funds and the participation of the social partners in their administration.

Other new legislation that was adopted or came into force during 2003 included the following:

• from January , the provisions of new legislation relating to working mothers’ eligibility for 'fictitious' contribution periods to pensions insurance came into effect (GR0302101N). The new rules allow women to claim a certain period of pension contributions in respect of time spent having and bringing up children;

• in April, Presidential Decree 81/2003 was issued regarding fixed-term contracts, aimed at transposing the 1999 EU Directive (1999/70/EC) on the issue (GR0305101F);

• in August 2003, Law 3174/2003 was passed, which provides for public sector organisations to recruit unemployed people and other groups in a difficult labour market position on part-time, fixed-term contracts in order to provide certain social services, such as home care (GR0309103F); and

• late in the year, new legislation was adopted on local prefects's ability to set rules on shop opening hours, and special provisions on opening hours were introduced to accompany the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (GR0312102F).

There had been little progress by the end of the year in implementing (GR0308102T) the EU race Directive (2000/43/EC) (EU0006256F) and framework equal treatment Directive ( 2000/78/EC) (EU0010274F). Greece has also not moved to regulate 'non-traditional' forms of employment, such as teleworking and concealed forms of subordinate employment (ie 'economically dependent workers').

The organisation and role of the social partners

No changes to the structure and organisation of the country’s trade union and employer bodies were noted during 2003.

Industrial action

Although no overall data are yet available, significant and widespread strike activity occurred in 2003. The unions’ basic demands related to pay policy reform and higher pay increases. Important factors in the wave of strike activity included:

• the rapid rise in inflation after the introduction of the euro;

• the manner of setting pay and pay scales in the public sector;

• various political initiatives;

• increased union demands in view of the general election due to take place in spring 2004; and

• summit meetings held in the context of the Greek Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2003.

An important focus of strike activity was the public sector, where the main demands were for: pay indexation to offset inflation increases; the inclusion of various pay supplements in basic pay; the creation of new pay scale regulations for public servants; and the repeal of the new legislation extending part-time employment to the public sector (see above under 'Legislative developments'). Groups taking strike action included: education workers (teaching staff at all levels); healthcare workers (doctors and employees in public hospitals and staff at the national emergency assistance centre); and employees of the national statistical service and local authorities. In autumn 2003, trade unions organising in the public security and safety forces - the police, fire service and coastguard - held a number of strikes and protests in opposition to the policy of the government, which refused to classify their occupations as hazardous (a move which would bring pay and pension benefits) (GR0311103F). The wave of public sector strikes reached at high point at the beginning of November, when the Greek Confederation of Public Servants (ADEDY) held a 24-hour strike in opposition to the government’s pay policy. (GR0312101N).

In the private sector, there was a wave of industrial action from mid-May until the beginning of June. This period saw the closure of several enterprises - such as Schiesser-Pallas, Yvonne Stores, Hippocampus and TVX- and a cluster of collective redundancies (GR0311104T GR0306105F and GR0306101N). These events sparked renewed public dialogue on the structural problems of the Greek economy.

In May 2003, as part of the denationalisation of Hellenic Petroleum, an agreement was signed to merge it with the Greek private sector oil company, Petrola. The POEPDHV petrochemical workers' trade union opposed the merger on the grounds that it was economically infeasible and furthermore claimed that the merger procedure ignored commitments to social dialogue. It called a strike at Hellenic Petroleum in July.(GR0307102N). A draft bill on further liberalisation of the electrical power market, issued by the Ministry of Development in June, provoked strong reactions from the industry's workers, who held protest strikes in June and July.(GR0307101N). Finally, dockers held a one-day nationwide strike in Greek ports in September 2003 as part of a Europe-wide trade union campaign against a proposed EU Directive on the liberalisation of port services. (GR0310101N).

The right to strike proved to be a contentious legal issue in 2003, after a number of strikes were ruled illegal and excessive by the courts. The Thessalonika Court of Appeal ruled that it was lawful for an employer to reduce a worker’s paid annual leave by the number of days spent on strike, when a court rules the strike illegal after it strike has started (GR0310102N). In February, the Supreme Court published a decision taking a restrictive view of the right of trade unions to intervene in trials related to labour disputes (GR0303101N).

Employee participation

There were no significant developments in the area of employee participation in 2003, though the government is planning work on the transposition of the the EU information and consultation Directive (2002/14/EC) (EU0204207F) in the coming period. Despite the existence of legislation on works councils since 1988, very few have been established (GR0309106T).

Stress at work

Stress at work has not been a significant issue for legislation or collective bargaining., though trade unions are taking an increasing interest in the matter (GR0403101N).

No data are available on the extent of stress at work. However, some commentators argue that feelings of insecurity and stress at work are likely to be generated by various factors in Greek working life, such as: wages that remain at around 67% of the EU average; a gradual increase in precarious employment; and working hours and unemployment that remain at high levels in international comparative terms. A recent study carried out by the Institute of Labour of GSEE/ADEDY found that the threat of unemployment, the absence of adequate social protection and the introduction of labour market flexibility are significant factors leading to a feeling of insecurity that is becoming widespread among young people. An above-average proportion of people in the 15-29 age group are in part-time and temporary employment and are at a high risk of losing their jobs. Recent research carried out by the ICAP business consultancy, based on a sample of households, indicated that most Greeks take a negative view of their future economic situation. It found that only 13.2% of households in the sample anticipated an improvement, whereas 50.2% expected to find themselves worse off, and 6.2% had a pervading feeling of insecurity.

Undeclared work

Undeclared work is a significant issue in Greece, with illegal employment and undeclared economic activity at high levels, accounting for some 35% of GDP. A significant part of the hidden economy may be ascribed to the undeclared work of economic migrants from eastern Europe and Asian countries. Although the process of legalising immigrants from these countries has been accelerated, experts believe that the system still contains substantial shortcomings and bureaucratic obstacles to eradicating undeclared work. According to recent data from the Social Insurance Foundation (IKA), Greece’s largest social insurance fund, roughly one worker in four is uninsured. At the same time, the country has a large percentage of economic migrants in its workforce (around 10%), although undeclared work does not involve only foreign workers.

Recent actions to combat the phenomenon of undeclared work include continued attempt to legalise immigrants living and working in Greece, and the development of information systems by the Labour Force Employment Organisation (OAED) and the Corps of Labour Inspectors that will allow cross-checking of data from these two bodies as well as the IKA. In Greece's 2003 National Action Plan for employment (GR0310103T), these actions are also listed as measures to combat unemployment. At the same time, in order to register employment with more precision, the sample used by the National Statistical Office to compile the Labour Force Survey may be altered. However, it remains to be seen whether the range of measures recently introduced to increase the supply of labour and extend working life - such as employer subsidies, incentives to hire unemployed people and the elimination of disincentives to older adults to remain economically active - will have a substantial impact on the extent of undeclared work.

New forms of work

As noted above (under 'Legislative developments'), legislation seeking to implement the EU Directive (1999/70/EC) on fixed-term contracts was adopted in 2003. According to data from the national statistical service for 2002, temporary employment accounts for some 11.3% of paid employment. Although the trend is downward, this proportion is still above the EU average. This type of work is more prevalent among women (representing 13% of their employment), young workers in the 15-19 age group (36.3%), the 20-24 age group (23.5%) and unskilled workers (22.6%). Thus it is apparent that temporary employment in Greece is concentrated in sectors of the labour force that are more vulnerable to unemployment and have a lower level of social protection. The Presidential Decree implementing the fixed-term work Directive excludes from its coverage a significant number of workers, most of whom are work in the public sector and 'broader public sector'. This development provoked a significant reaction from trade unions (GR0306102N), and various categories of excluded workers have sought to raise the issue at the European Court of Justice.

Similar reactions were provoked by the passing of Law 3174/2003 on 'part-time employment and services of a social nature' in August (see above under 'Legislative developments'). This law allows for public services or local authorities to conclude 'programmatic contracts' with private non-profit bodies. Such contracts involve the provision of services of a social nature at national or local level by engaging staff on part-time contracts of up to 20 hours a week with a term of up to 24 months. These jobs involve various social policy and welfare areas, such as: provision of care in the home; caretakers for school buildings; children’s road safety; and the social integration of immigrants. Although Article 2 of the law provides that such employment contracts may be renewed after two months have elapsed from the time they are terminated, questions have been raised regarding the scheme's effectiveness in substantially combating unemployment and improving the services provided. This is primarily due to the short duration of the contracts, which affects the level of pay, and also because critics claim that the contracts keep workers 'hostage', in the sense that they create expectations that the contracts will be renewed after a certain period of time. It is argued that these conditions may have a negative impact on the level of service and the quality of the work provided, although the contracts help meet important social needs using potentially interchangeable staff. It is also claimed that such an expansion of part-time work cannot resolve the problem of unemployment, since it effectively contributes to the fragmentation of full-time jobs and redistributes unemployment. It should be noted that part-time employment is particularly widespread in Greece’s social welfare system, and that a stable basis for funding and long-term planning is lacking for many social policy initiatives, such as the 'children’s creative activity centres'. Finally, the law is criticised as being quite vague in relation to the nature of the not-for-profit private law entities that may enter into contracts, and regarding the procedures for monitoring and distributing resources to them, as well as in relation to the broader regulatory framework of labour relations that will govern the new category of part-timers.

Overall, the level of part-time employment in Greece is notably lower than the EU average. In 2002, part-time jobs represented only around 4.5% of all employment, half of which resulted from an inability to find full-time employment. The proportion of 'voluntary' part-time employment in Greece is clearly lower than in the EU average (of about 60%). The share of part-time work is higher among women than men (8.1% and 2.3% respectively), and is also higher at the extreme ends of the age spectrum (13.5% for workers aged 15-19 and 15.4% for those over 65).

Other relevant developments

In September 2003, the the Hellenic Agricultural Insurance Organisation (ELGA) sought to employ staff on fixed-term contracts which provided for them to be dismissed if they became pregnant. This provision was later withdrawn after protests from trade unions, the General Secretariat for Equality and politicians (GR0311102N). This was the latest in a series of cases in Greece involving discrimination against pregnant workers.

Outlook

The promotion of structural reforms in the labour market and the determination of wage increases are expected to be points of friction between the social partners during 2004. There has already been substantial disagreement between the trade unions, the employers and the government with regard to the levels of wage increases during the first round of talks over a new National General Collective Agreement. At the same time, measures to combat unemployment and changes to the social insurance system recently announced by the Ministry of Labour, which are likely to become law in 2004, have created a climate of tension between the social partners. In this context, the issue expected to be at the top of Greece’s collective bargaining and industrial relations agenda in 2004 is the unions' demand for an 8% pay increase that will effectively protect workers’ real incomes from upward trends in inflation and gradually achieve convergence of real wages with average levels in other EU countries. (Lefteris Kretsos, INE/GSEE-ADEDY)