Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Greece (Ratification: 1952)

In its previous comments, the Committee referred to the provisions on the resignation of officers set out in Legislative Decree No. 1400-73. It noted that an officer's application to resign in peacetime must be accepted. The officer's departure may be delayed by three months on account of the exigencies of the service (section 34(9)).

The Committee also noted that an officer who has received training can only be authorized to leave the army after he has completed a compulsory period of service which may be three to four times as long as the period of training received and may be of up to 25 years where there have been successive periods of training (section 64(17)).

The Committee noted the Government's indications that the compulsory retention in the army of officers who have received training during a certain period is due to reasons connected with the requirements of the armed forces in skilled personnel and the obligation of those concerned to work off the participation of the State in the cost of their training.

The Committee referred to paragraphs 67 to 73 of its General Survey of 1979 on the Abolition of Forced Labour, and pointed out that persons in the service of the State should be entitled to leave the service on their own initiative within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals, or with previous notice, subject to the conditions which may normally be required to ensure the continuity of the service. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the provisions under which an officer's departure may be delayed by three months following the submission of his application to resign, are intended to ensure the proper functioning of the service. The Government adds that these provisions are applied only to cases which, by their nature or specificity, require service obligations to be regulated.

With regard to persons who have received training financed by the State, the Committee points out that these persons should also be entitled to leave the service on their own initiative within a reasonable period, which should be proportional to the length of the studies financed by the State, or by reimbursing a proportion of the costs incurred by the State. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the army chief of general staff has indicated that the final opinion of the competent department on the question of the freedom to resign of career officers who have received several periods of training will be submitted as soon as possible, and hopes that the Government will indicate the measures taken or contemplated to maintain the freedom of such officers to leave the service within a reasonable period or by reimbursing the costs incurred by the State.