Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Greece (Ratification: 1987)

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of a nursing services and personnel policy in consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned. The Committee notes the detailed information supplied in the Government’s report and also the attached documentation. It notes the modifications made to the national health system, in particular the adoption of the “Health and well-being” programme in the context of the third community aid plan. The Committee also notes that one of the aims of this plan is to improve the quality and effectiveness of health services. With regard to the steps taken to implement the abovementioned programme, in particular its priority component concerning human resources, the Committee notes that these measures will enable new services to be created, health personnel to be trained and new staff to be recruited for the newly created units and services. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the implementation of the abovementioned programme, the results achieved and its impact on the conditions of work of nursing personnel. It also requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any legislative amendments relating to the operation of health services in the public and private sectors and, if applicable, to supply copies of any relevant legislative texts.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that, according to numerous information sources, the country is experiencing a shortage in qualified nursing personnel, to the extent that unusual practices have developed, including the recourse to so‑called “exclusive” nurses, namely female migrant workers employed in a quasi-nursing capacity and even informal hospital services provided by patients’ families which are increasingly tolerated by public establishments. As the Committee understands it, Greece is, along with Italy, the only European Union country in which the number of doctors exceeds the number of nursing personnel in public hospitals. The Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information in its next report on the phenomenon of understaffing in the nursing sector, the conditions of recruitment and work of foreign nurses and “exclusive” nurses – which would appear to constitute a grey area between regular and irregular work – and also the steps taken or contemplated to tackle the shortage in nursing personnel and to provide employment and working conditions, including career prospects and remuneration, which are likely to attract persons to the profession and retain them in it.

Article 5, paragraph 2. Determination of conditions of employment and work by collective negotiation. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the copies of collective agreements supplied by the Government governing the questions of remuneration and conditions of work of nursing personnel employed in public and private hospitals, nursing homes and medical centres. As regards nursing personnel employed on private contracts in the public sector, the Committee notes that remuneration is currently determined on the basis of the uniform salary scale valid for all public service employees. Moreover, as regards conditions of work and pay of nursing personnel employed on a voluntary basis by private associations, the Committee notes the joint ministerial decision of the Minister of Economic and Financial Affairs and the Under-Secretary for Employment and Social Protection. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the collective agreements in force and on any alteration in the methods of determining conditions of employment and work of nursing personnel.

Article 7. Occupational safety and health. The Committee notes the Government’s statement to the effect that, on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2006, an information campaign took place concerning biological agents and HIV/AIDS. In this regard, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the Joint ILO/WHO guidelines on health services and HIV/AIDS, published in 2005, with a view to helping health services to strengthen their capacity for providing workers with a healthy and decent working environment, this being the most effective means of reducing the transmission of HIV and improving the provision of care for patients. The Committee would also like to refer to the discussion held at the June 2009 session of the International Labour Conference on “HIV/AIDS and the world of work”, with a view to the adoption of an international labour recommendation, in particular paragraph 37 of the draft conclusions (see ILC, 98th Session, 2009, Report IV(2), page 310), which states that public health systems should be strengthened, where appropriate, in order to ensure greater access to prevention, treatment, care and support, and to reduce the additional strain on public services, particularly on health workers, caused by HIV/AIDS. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any new measure taken or contemplated in order to improve the protection of nursing personnel against infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the statistics supplied by the Government concerning the number of qualified auxiliary nurses and also the number of persons who took a training course during the 2002–08 period. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for example, statistics on the number of nursing personnel – by sectors of activity and by levels of training and functions, if possible – the number of persons entering and leaving the profession each year, the number of students enrolled in various nursing schools, copies of reports or official studies, and information on any practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention, etc.