Trade union confederation sets out demands for 1998

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In December 1997, Greece's GSEE trade union confederation invited employers' organisations to open negotiations for a new National General Collective Agreement for 1998, and set out its demands.

On 22 December 1997, the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) sent the employers' organisations an invitation to open negotiations for a new National General Collective Agreement (EGSSE) for 1998. The text of the invitation to negotiate, in addition to rejecting the existing EGSSE, sets out in detail the GSEE's whole framework of demands for setting minimum salaries and wages for the country's employees across the board, and for regulating statutory matters.

Without mentioning any specific rates of pay increase, the GSEE lists the following economic demands:

• safeguarding real income and awarding pay increases at or above the average 1998 rate of inflation, adjusted for variations, in addition to real increases to ensure workers' contribution to growth in Gross National Product and the redistribution of national income in their favour, through payment of an adjustment;

• equalising three-yearly length-of-service benefits for blue- and white-collar workers;

• adjusting regular annual leave allowances to cover the total number of days' leave, when in excess of half a month;

• increasing overtime rates to double time for work on public holidays; and

• paying workers' transport expenses, by defraying the cost of monthly bus passes.

With regard to the statutory section of the agreement, the GSEE puts forward the following demands:

• reducing working time to 35 hours per week, with no reduction in pay;

• abolishing excessive working hours and restrict overtime;

• extending Law 2112 to blue-collar workers - that is, introducing single status for white-collar and blue-collar workers in terms of the right to compensation;

• increasing annual leave to five weeks, with no seasonal constraints;

• facilitating and financing the creation of workplace health and safety committees;

• extending the right to training leave to all workers;

• extending to two years the period after childbirth during which working mothers may not be dismissed;

• granting paid parental leave and creating day childcare centres in enterprises employing more than 250 workers;

• working together to combat the abuse of drugs and alcoholism;

• taking joint measures on the working environment;

• protecting computer users by granting one extra day off every two months, moving pregnant women away from computer screens throughout pregnancy and providing 15-minute breaks every two hours;

• taking measures to respect workers' national, linguistic and other characteristics;

• signing collective agreements in associations of companies;

• financing trade unions' cultural and athletic activities; and

• introducing the check-off system (deduction of union dues from wages and their remission to the union organisation).

The GSEE has also set out a series of demands concerning the need for joint action between workers and management. The first meeting of representatives of workers and employers to work towards signing the new National General Collective Agreement is expected to take place on 30 January 1998.