A new company agreement at the EVZ public sugar corporation was signed by the management board of the company and the Federation of Workers in the Greek Sugar Industries on 7 August 1997. The deal, known as the three-year agreement for "industrial peace", runs from 8 August 1997 until 31 December 1999.
On 7 August 1997, after months of intense negotiations, the new enterprise-level collective agreement was signed at EVZ, the Greek public sugar corporation.
A new company agreement at the EVZ public sugar corporation was signed by the management board of the company and the Federation of Workers in the Greek Sugar Industries on 7 August 1997. The deal, known as the three-year agreement for "industrial peace", runs from 8 August 1997 until 31 December 1999.
The agreement was signed following mediation by the Mediation and Arbitration Service (OMED) in an attempt to meet the contradictory demands of the employers and the employees and submit a proposal which both parties could accept. Employees demanded a pay increase of 6.5%, whilst the employers preferred no increase at all. This is the first deal intended to boost competitiveness that has been signed in the Greek public sector. It is expected to serve as a model for other similar agreements in the public administration and the broader sector of public services and enterprises.
As far as pay is concerned, the agreement provides an increase of 2.25% for the first six months of 1997 and the same increase again for the second half of the year. For 1998 the pay increase will be 1.75 percentage points lower than the pay increase awarded under the National General Collective Agreement (EGSSE) while for 1999 the corresponding reduction will be one percentage point compared again with the EGSSE. In case profits exceed the limit of GRD 4 billion over 1997-8, the 1.75 percentage point reduction will not apply and the employees concerned will receive the full pay increase as laid out in the EGSSE, as back payment. The same will apply if the profits exceed the GRD 4 billion limit over 1998-9. If the company does well economically, it has also agreed to pay employees whatever is appropriate to compensate them for the income lost over the three-year period.
In the second part of the agreement, the social partners have set up a "bipartite committee on employment relations" comprising two employee and two employer representatives. The committee will be responsible for:
registering and monitoring all the terms of the collective agreements;
examining the compensation system and proposing a restructuring aimed at rationalising the system of job evaluation;
examining the performance-related pay system and deciding about its future design in order to reflect employees' productivity and the economic results of the company; and
a variety of other issues relating to working conditions
The president of the Federation of Workers in the Greek Sugar Industries considers the deal to be satisfactory, pointing out that it shows "a measure of goodwill from the employees". Meanwhile the company's management board views the agreement as a joint attempt to improve competitiveness, and estimates that it will save a total of GRD 3.5 billion over its term.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1997), Three-year agreement signed in Greek sugar industry, article.
