Law changes terms and conditions at Olympic Airways

In April 1998, the Greek Parliament passed a law regulating labour matters at Olympic Airways, following the failure of management and trade unions to agree on the issue. The legislation, which forms part of the airline's recovery plan, has attracted union criticism.

Greece's state-owned airline, Olympic Airways (OA) is the first in a series of public corporations to be restructured in the framework of the measures accompanying the devaluation in March 1998 of the drachma (GR9803161F), by which the Government is seeking to achieve Greece's participation in EU Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). On 9 April 1998 - in a general national climate of tension which culminated in a nationwide strike on the same day called by the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) and the Confederation of Public Servants (ADEDY) - Parliament passed the law that will regulate terms and conditions of employment and other labour matters in OA.

The Government had submitted the OA bill to Parliament on 30 March 1998. The bill, which management says is one component of the company's recovery plan, resulted from the inability of management and trade unions to reach a compromise solution on the issues. The bill sparked protests from OA employees and trade unions all over Greece, as well as from a large segment of the political world, both inside and outside the governing PASOK party, even raising the issue of the constitutionality of the bill. On 9 April, in the wake of strong protests from workers and repeated mobilisations, Parliament passed the final draft, amending some of the original bill's provisions, with a vote of 158 in favour

Provisions of the law

The law passed on 9 April will introduce the following changes to terms and conditions at OA.

• There was no previously no provision for flexible working hours in OA. The new law provides for flexibility of up to 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

• Meal allowances for ground crews are cut by 10% monthly, with an upper limit of GRD 65,000 instead of the previous GRD 70,000. For flight crews, the basic meal allowance of GRD 45,000 per month is cancelled.

• Pilots' mileage allowance will continue to be paid after the first 10 hours worked each month, but will be reduced by 20% for the 12 months beginning on 15 April 1998, and by 15% and 10% respectively during the next two 12-month periods.

• The flight attendants' productivity bonus after the first 10 hours worked each month is reduced from GRD 1,000 per hour to GRD 800 per hour during the coming 12 months, and then set at GRD 850 and GRD 900 respectively during the following two 12-month periods.

• The composition of crews for international flights will be regulated by agreement between management and unions.

• The upper limit on weekly flying hours of flight crews is increased from 28 to 32 hours, whereas the total number of working hours remains at 40.

• Rest breaks for flight crews, now totalling 11 hours per month all year round, are reduced to nine hours per month between April and October, though will remain at 11 for the rest of the year.

Those provisions of existing collective agreements that come into conflict with the regulations laid down in this new regime are to be abolished. However, the provision of the original bill which would have allowed the OA administrative board to terminate these agreements as a whole, was finally rejected.

Reactions of the two sides

The Government, which is the main actor in the whole procedure, acknowledges that the final result is the product of a practical compromise. Commenting on the outcome of the conflict, the Minister of Transport recognised that some of the provisions of the amended regulations are more favourable to workers than those originally proposed by the Government, but stated that it is an agreement that will ensure labour peace in OA. With specific reference to the economic impact of the new arrangement, he said that the amended labour regulations will save the company only GRD 12.5 billion, instead of the GRD 17.5 billion foreseen by the original bill, and that savings from the cutbacks in meal allowances amount to GRD 4.8 billion annually, instead of the GRD 9 billion foreseen by the bill as it was originally submitted. The Minister stated that the Government would much rather achieve 85% of its objectives through social agreement than 100% through conflict.

With regard to workers' reactions, viewpoints appear to differ among the various unions, although most have declared themselves opposed to the new regulations, among them the Union of Licensed Aircraft Technicians of Olympic Airways (EPTAOA) and the Pilots' Union (EXPA). Characteristic reactions were those of EPTAOA - whose general assembly empowered its governing board on 13 April to call 24-hour strikes whenever it sees fit - and of EXPA - whose members announced they will not work on their days off as the company now requires them to do.

Finally, OA management is looking into the possibility of hiring aircraft and crews from outside Greece if workers' protests continue. It is also trying to normalise the situation, stressing that if service continues to be disrupted, OA will be facing the possibility of bankruptcy.

Commentary

Although the Government has gone ahead with changes in labour relations in OA on the grounds that they are necessary for turning the company around, such changes clearly mean poorer terms and conditions of employment. This change for the worse would have taken on dramatic dimensions if a major part of the political world had not come out in opposition and if the strike called by the GSEE for 9 April 1998 had not been successfully carried out.

Another negative development for labour relations in Greece is the fact that the changes were imposed by legislation, a practice many observers, trade unionists and politicians have characterised as peremptory. Moreover, this peremptory regulation of labour relations in OA is to serve as a test case for resolving problems or labour disputes in other public corporations in the months to come. According to some estimations, the developments in OA mark the beginning of a broader government move aimed at mass privatisations and the radical change of labour relations in the direction of flexibility. (Eva Soumeli, INE/GSEE)