Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Greece (Ratification: 1988)

The Committee notes the observations of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) received on 31 August 2017 and 30 October 2019.

Impact of the structural reform measures on the application of the Convention. Since 2010, the Committee has been examining the austerity measures adopted in the framework of the financial support mechanism, and requesting the Government to monitor the impact of such measures on gender equality, including workers with family responsibilities. While noting that the Government does not provide information on any impact assessment undertaken to that end, the Committee notes that the GSEE reiterates its previous concerns regarding the absence of any impact assessment of the austerity measures on the implementation of the Convention, and considers that due to the austerity measures, the burden of family responsibilities on women has increased due to gender stereotypes and as a result of uneven sharing between men and women of child and family care responsibilities. The Committee takes note of the adoption of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (NAPGE) for 2016–20 and more particularly of the Government’s acknowledgement that the prolonged austerity policies have disproportionately affected women’s employment. While noting that the third economic adjustment programme ended on 20 August 2018, the Committee also notes that, in April 2019, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Discrimination Against Women in Law and in Practice considered that Greece was lagging behind other countries in the European Union on women’s rights despite legal and policy frameworks being in place, because of poor implementation, the persistence of discrimination and the lingering impacts of the crisis and austerity measures (OHCHR, Press statement of 12 April 2019). While regretting that the Government did not undertake any impact assessment that could have helped it to better assess and mitigate the impact of the austerity measures adopted between 2012 and 2018 on the application of the Convention, the Committee trusts that the Government will take all the necessary measures, in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations, the Ombudsperson and the enforcement authorities, to assess and address all the issues identified by the Committee on the application of the Convention. It asks the Government to provide full information on the concrete measures implemented to that end, in the framework of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality or otherwise, as well as on any obstacle identified and the results achieved.

Article 2 of the Convention. Categories of workers. The Committee notes that, in 2018, the Ombudsperson and the European Commission highlighted that employees in fixed-term employment contracts in the public sector, including substitute state school teachers, are not granted the maternity leave which their permanent colleagues receive and are not entitled to paid sick leave in case of pregnancy related illness and parental leave (Ombudsperson, 2018 special report on equal treatment, and European Commission, Country report on gender discrimination, 2018). It notes that the GSEE also expresses specific concern in this regard. Recalling that the Convention applies to all categories of workers, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken or envisaged to ensure that the measures concerning workers with family responsibilities under the national legislation apply to employees in fixed-term employment contract in the public sector, including substitute state school teachers.

Article 4. Leave entitlements. The Committee previously noted that section 53(3) of the Civil Servants Code (Act No. 3528/2007) limits the use of the right to childcare leave (reduced working hours or a nine month period of paid leave) by male civil servants whose spouse is not working to cases in which the spouse is not capable of caring for children due to serious illness or other disabilities. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s statement, in its report, that such provision has been repealed by Law No 4210/2013, which also amended section 53(2) of the Civil Servants Code to provide for additional childcare leave in case of multiple births. The Government adds that childcare leave is counted as service for the calculation of employees’ benefits, both in the private and public sectors, despite section 51(5) of the Civil Servants Code. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that, as a result of Opinion No. 167/2014 of the state legal service, it was decided that the period of maternity leave and sick leave due to childbirth, as well as parental leave, constitute service for the civil servants and are taken into account in calculating annual leave. In that regard, the Committee also notes that, on February 2019, the Athens Court of Appeal recognized unpaid parental leave as working time for the purpose of pay calculation (Judgment No. 3693/2018). Concerning the statistical information on the extent to which men and women workers, respectively, make use of family-related leave entitlements both in the private and public sectors, the Government states that no statistics are available but that family-related leave entitlements are mainly used by female civil servants. The Committee notes that, in its 2018 special report on equal treatment, the Ombudsperson indicated that men frequently faced adversities in the equal granting of child-raising leave, as a result of the perception that child raising is strictly and exclusively the mother’s role. It further notes that the NAPGE for 2016–20 provides for targeted actions to encourage men to use parental leave. The Committee encourages the Government to take steps to collect statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the extent to which men and women workers make use of family-related leave entitlements, both in the public and private sectors, and to provide information on any progress made in that regard. Taking into consideration the persistent gender stereotypes concerning the sharing of family responsibilities, the Committee also asks the Government to provide information on any proactive measures taken to encourage more men to make use of family-related leave, such as awareness-raising activities promoting the exercise of shared parental responsibilities and encouraging men’s engagement in parenting and caring for children, and other immediate family members, as well as on their impact.

Article 6. Awareness-raising measures. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the reconciliation of work and family life formed part of the Gender Equality Actions Plans which were implemented at regional level as a tool of gender mainstreaming in all public policies, in the framework of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) for 2007–13, which was completed in 2015. The Government adds that the GSFPGE regularly undertook information and awareness-raising activities for public bodies and social partners, and publishes relevant information on its webpage as well as other print and electronic mass media. The Committee further notes that the NAPGE for 2016–20 sets as targeted action “providing training to employers on work and family life balance issues, to encourage the adoption of family-friendly practices at workplaces”. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the actions undertaken, including in the framework of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality, in order to promote a broader understanding of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers and awareness of the rights and needs of workers with family responsibilities, including among employers, and to address gender stereotypes regarding the role of men and women with respect to family responsibilities. It asks the Government to provide information on the impact of the awareness-raising activities undertaken, and to provide information in the adoption of family-friendly practices at workplaces.

Article 7. Vocational guidance and training. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the specific vocational guidance and training measures adopted to ensure that men and women workers with family responsibilities can become and remain integrated in the labour force, as well as re-enter it after an absence due to family responsibilities. It also asks the Government to provide statistical information on the number of workers with family responsibilities, disaggregated by sex, who participated in vocational guidance and training programmes.

Article 11. Participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the GSFPGE implemented five co-financed projects, in the context of the National Strategic Reference Framework for 2007–13, in order to establish Equality Offices, with helplines addressing issues on reconciliation of work and family life, in the headquarters of five employers and workers organizations. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the specific measures taken to promote social dialogue and tripartite cooperation in order to strengthen the laws, measures and policies giving effect to the Convention, and on the manner in which workers’ and employers’ organizations have participated in the design and implementation of such measures, including through collective bargaining and workplace policies on work and family reconciliation. Please provide information on the activities of the Equality Offices established at social partners’ headquarters and the results achieved.