In September 2002, the crews of Greek merchant marine ships have been subject to'civil conscription' for three consecutive months, after the government imposed this obligation to work in order to end a strike. As well as trade unions in the sector, the whole Greek trade union movement and a number of international union organisations, along with other political and social bodies, have opposed the imposition of this measure and demanded that it be rescinded immediately.
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In September 2002, the crews of Greek merchant marine ships have been subject to'civil conscription' for three consecutive months, after the government imposed this obligation to work in order to end a strike. As well as trade unions in the sector, the whole Greek trade union movement and a number of international union organisations, along with other political and social bodies, have opposed the imposition of this measure and demanded that it be rescinded immediately.
On 21 June 2002, following decisions by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Maritime Shipping, 'civil conscription' was introduced for Greek maritime workers, with the immediate purpose of ending a strike in the sector - over social insurance issues, notably pensions - which had begun on 18 June. The conscription was still in force in early September 2002. Civil conscription is a means available to the government of obliging workers to work in certain circumstances.
The conscription decision was made even though, on 24 April 2002, both the Minister of Maritime Shipping (in memorandum No. 124) and the Minister of Labour had stated that they fully accepted the strikers’ demands were 'mature, fair and legitimate'. Subsequently, the Panhellenic Seafarers' Federation (PNO), the trade union representing maritime workers, petitioned to suspend the government decisions on the civil conscription of the crews of merchant marine ships. However, the suspensions commission of the Council of State rejected the petition, though a later petition by PNO to reverse the decisions was scheduled for discussion before the Council of State on 30 September 2003.
Apart from PNO and other maritime workers’ associations, the Greek trade union movement as a whole, along with a great number of other social and political bodies, came out against the conscription. For example, Athens Bar Association (DSA) issued a statement on 3 July 2002 demanding that the measure be terminated immediately. DSA stated that it unanimously condemned government practices that effectively abolish the right to strike or prevent that right from being exercised, when the government is bound by the Greek Constitution to ensure the unimpeded, effective exercise of the rights of persons as individuals or as members of society as a whole. DSA also expressed its general opposition to civil conscription, arguing that the state could use other appropriate means to address any problems that emerge, not to mention that there are insufficient legal grounds for such a decision.
The Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE), in the belief that such methods cannot help in addressing the problems facing the maritime sector, issued a statement on 22 August 2002 condemning once again the civil conscription of maritime workers as an action which abolishes basic labour and trade union rights, and demanded that the measure be suspended and abolished immediately.
Beyond Greece, there has been important solidarity action by the international trade union movement. The 40th congress of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), held on 14-21 August 2002, adopted a resolution which: 'condemns the unprecedented act of the Greek government, of proceeding to civil conscription of Greek maritime workers, which among other things constitutes a clear violation of ILO Convention 87 (freedom of association and protection of the right to organise, 1948), … expresses its support and solidarity with the PNO and the Greek maritime workers … and calls on the Greek government to revoke immediately the civil conscription order and begin serious negotiations in good faith with the PNO'.
The adoption of the resolution had been preceded a series of other actions, including:
a memorandum from the ITF general secretary, David Cockroft, to the Greek Prime Minister, Konstantinos Simitis, on 28 June 2002, requesting that the decision on civil conscription be revoked immediately;
letters from 38 maritime workers’ unions which are members of ITF denouncing the government decision; and
a memorandum dated 2 July 2002 from the general secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Guy Ryder, to the Greek Prime Minister, referring to Greece’s obligations emanating from International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions No. 87 and No. 98.
The PNO itself appealed on 11 July 2002 to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, calling on it to intervene in order to investigate the conditions under which the civil conscription of maritime workers was decided, including sending a special investigatory group to Greece. According to a report in the review Fairplay International Shipping, PNO is accusing the Greek government of illegal use of the civil conscription measure, maintaining that this measure is normally taken to meet vital needs such as natural disasters and public health emergencies, but not to quell strikes. The review claims that civil conscription goes counter to international labour law and to Greek's Constitutional legislation (Article 22, paragraph 3), which forbids any form of forced labour.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2002), 'Civil conscription' imposed on maritime workers, article.
