Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Greece (Ratification: 1984)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as the information at its disposal in 2019.

The Committee notes the observations of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) received on 30 August 2019, as well as the Government’s reply received on 21 November 2019.

Employment trends and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee has been noting the persistent high unemployment rates in the country for some time and has been encouraging the country to take measures to address the situation. The Committee notes that, according to the ILOSTAT database, the overall unemployment rate fell from 21.5 per cent in 2017 to 17.3 in 2019, while the labour force participation rate stood at 52 per cent in 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government indicates that the pandemic is pushing the Greek labour market to its limits and provides information on a series of measures taken to reduce the impact of the pandemic on the labour market, including measures to safeguard employment rights in the event of suspension of employment contracts by prohibiting layoffs and requiring enterprises to retain jobs, as well as by providing compensation to suspended employees. The Government indicates that, during this period, it continues to provide guaranteed employment for unemployed persons in the public sector through community employment jobs as well as in the private sector through the subsidization of private enterprises. The Committee notes with interest the short-time work scheme SUN-ERGASIA, which seeks to support affected businesses by reducing their labour costs and allowing flexibility in staff management, while at the same time protecting employment by excluding all employee layoffs within this framework. The Committee further notes the special measures targeting seasonal workers by requiring businesses that have suspended such employees to gradually reintegrate them as conditions permit. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market, including statistical information, disaggregated by age and sex, on the size and distribution of the labour force, rates of employment, unemployment and under employment and the size of the informal economy. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the pandemic and the measures adopted to mitigate its effects have affected the implementation of the objectives of the Convention.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Active employment policy and labour market measures. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to address the national employment situation and to provide information on the impact of employment initiatives taken within the framework of an active employment policy. In its observations, the GSEE maintains that there is no coherent data on the impact of such initiatives, including on the impact of measures taken to promote the integration of the long-term unemployed in the labour market, as well as of persons in vulnerable situation. The GSEE reiterates its previous observations that high unemployment rates in the country are related to three factors: (i) the dismantling of legislation on temporary employment which had the effect of deterring the hiring of new employees; (ii) bankruptcies and lay-offs; and (iii) new legislation which has facilitated dismissals. The GSEE also reiterates that the Government has not presented any specific examples of job creation and active employment policies, or of efforts made to encourage the unemployed to return to work. In its report, the Government reports that it faces two major challenges: the stimulation of labour demand and the improvement of effectiveness and targeting of the enacted measures. In this context, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has designed actions with a view to increasing employment, primarily focussed on reducing youth and long-term unemployment, increasing the labour force and reversing the “brain drain” phenomenon. The Government indicates that one of the most important reforms in the context of upgrading the labour market environment is the re-design of Active Employment Policies which is provided through the Structural Reform Support Service aiming to enhance job-seekers’ employability through active interventions. The Committee notes that these new types of programmes are characterised by a tailor-made approach based, inter alia, on the enforced role of an employment counsellor who will monitor the progress with a view to assisting the unemployed to gradually integrate into the labour market. The Committee notes that the new Active Employment Policies reform model is being tested in a pilot project implemented in three municipalities with a view to be expanded throughout the country. In the context of reforms of active employment policies, the Ministry of Labour promotes the development of the Monitoring Implementation System, a framework to monitor and assess the Active Employment Policies. The Committee takes note of the detailed assessment studies provided by the Government which include information regarding the results of measures of employment policy adopted. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information regarding the policies and measures taken to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment and on the impact of employment initiatives adopted within the implementation of an active employment policy, including on the impact of the measures taken to promote the integration of the long-term unemployed in the labour market.

Workers vulnerable to decent work deficits. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning targeted employment measures, including measures to assist workers in acquiring professional experience and skills, particularly specific groups of persons in vulnerable situations, including young persons, older workers, persons with disabilities and the long-term unemployed. The Committee notes the establishment of the New Jobs Creation programme, as well as a subsidy programme for enterprises being implemented by the Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED), which aims to encourage employers to retain some 2,000 unemployed persons belonging to disadvantaged groups. The Committee further notes the adoption of Law 4611/2019, which seeks to facilitate the integration of persons from disadvantaged groups into the labour market by streamlining procedures for processing their job applications. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the nature and impact of measures taken to promote full, productive, freely-chosen and sustainable employment for persons vulnerable to decent work deficits.

Youth employment. The Committee notes that, while the youth unemployment rate in the country continues to decline, it nevertheless remains high. According to the ILOSTAT database, the youth unemployment rate fell from 43.6 per cent in 2017 to 35.2 per cent in 2019. The Government indicates that facilitating access to employment for young persons is one of its priorities and reports a series of actions targeted at upskilling youth in dynamic sectors of the labour market. The Committee takes note of the updated Action Plan on Youth Guarantee for the period 2018 -2020. The Government further reports on a series of institutional reforms that contribute to the integration of young people into the labour market, including the upgrading of vocational education, training and apprenticeship, the redesign of active employment and training policies, the development of a national qualification framework and the development of a certification system for vocational qualifications. In response to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that it attaches great importance to addressing the “brain drain” phenomenon and has established the “Re-brain Greece” working group, which has developed proposals, in consultation with the social partners, for measures to be taken in the areas of employment, training and education for this purpose. In its observations, the GSEE indicates that it intends to contribute to the development of tailored measures through the scientific expertise of the GSEE Labour Institute and the GSEE Development Centre for Education Policy. Noting the persistently high levels of youth unemployment, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on active employment policies and measures taken to enhance the employability of young persons and facilitate their integration into the labour market, including policies and measures targeting young university graduates. It further requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the impact of such measures, including statistical information disaggregated by age and sex.

Older workers. The Committee notes that that Government has taken a series of measures aimed at promoting the employment of older persons, including training programmes implemented in the context of the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Life-long Learning 2014-2020”, aiming at upskilling older workers. The Committee also notes as community employment programmes designed for older aged groups at higher risk of exclusion from the labour market. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures adopted to increase the employability of older workers, as well on the impact of such measures on the reintegration and retention in the labour market of this category of workers.

Women’s employment. The Committee notes that the unemployment rate for women continues to be higher than that for men. According to the ILOSTAT database, in 2019, the unemployment rate for women stood at 21.5 per cent, compared to 17.3 per cent for men, while the unemployment rate for young women was 37.1 per cent, compared to 33.5 per cent for young men. The Government indicates that increasing female labour force participation and strengthening women’s entrepreneurship is a priority and a strategic objective of the new National Action Plan on Gender Equality, which is currently being formulated to cover the next period (2021-2025). It further indicates that a growing participation rate of women is ensured in all employment programmes and reports on a series of skills improvement measures, including digital skills. The Committee notes that under the new Law 4604/2019 on Promoting substantive gender equality, Preventing and Combating Gender-Based Violence, a separate institutional framework is legislated for the first time to ensure gender equality and the elimination of discrimination against women. This measure introduces the requirement that enterprises draw up “Equality Plans” i.e. comprehensive interventions that will be prepared by enterprises of the public and private sector. Noting the higher rates of unemployment for women, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the nature and impact of measures adopted with a view to promoting the employment of women to enable them to access decent and lasting employment at all levels and across all economic sectors. It also requests the Government to report on the employment measures taken in the context of the National Action Plan on Gender Equality 2021-2025 and the impact of “Equality Plans” on promoting lasting employment of women.

Education and training policies and programmes. The Government refers to a series of programmes providing targeted training and counselling, inter alia the internship and apprenticeship programmes leading to certification of knowledge. It indicates that in order to upgrade apprenticeships in Greece, a series of legislative initiatives have been enacted, inter alia, on “Quality Framework for Apprenticeships” and on “Regulating subsidization and social security issues for Apprenticeship programmes”. These initiatives are aimed at protecting interns by reinforcing inspection on compliance with internship and apprenticeship legislation, imposing a limitation on the number of interns or apprentices to prevent the substitution of regular employment by internship or apprenticeship, and ensuring the provision of remuneration and social security contributions. The Government refers to a series of actions implemented by the OAED in the context of vocational training, including training and retraining programmes in technical specialties for public sector workers, targeted vocational training programmes that will contribute to the local economic development, specialisation training programmes in cutting-edge sectors of the economy, open framework upskilling programmes for the unemployed, and vocational training targeted to vulnerable social groups such as persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the “Innovative Response for Facilitating Young Refugees’ Social Support” programme which aims at developing an effective system of reception, social support and prompt employment integration of the refugee populations. In response to Committee’s previous request the Government indicates that the deliverables of the Identification Mechanism are based on the collection of primary data from different sources and are taken under consideration in designing and implementing actions on education, training and counselling. In its supplementary information, the Government indicates that the Identification Mechanism further developed through the adoption of a Roadmap for the implementation of the project “Governance of skills anticipation and matching system for Greece: in depth country review”. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the educational and training programmes and the impact of these programmes on productive and lasting employment opportunities for young people.

Promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Entrepreneurships. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to support the development of SMEs which employ most of the country’s labour force. According to the ERGANI Information System for 2019, enterprises employing 1-10 workers accounted for 88 per cent of the total number off enterprises employing workers. The Committee takes note of the strengthening of the Labour Inspectorate (SEPE) web portal in 2019, as well as of a series of measures taken to tackle undeclared work in SMEs. The Committee takes note of the statistical data provided by the Government which show an increasing trend in the number of inspected enterprises by SEPE and a decreasing trend in the number of enterprises with undeclared workers from 2016 to 2019. Regarding measures aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, the Committee takes note of measures taken to promote self-employment, in particular via financial support of business initiatives and the second chance entrepreneurship programme for 5,000 unemployed and former self-employed who have suspended their business activity. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to improve the business environment with a view to supporting the development of SMEs and creating employment opportunities for the unemployed. Referring to the Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193), it reiterates its request that the Government provide information on the measures taken to promote productive employment through cooperatives.

Modernization of labour markets institutions. The Committee takes note of the redesign of OAED which is taking place as a priority axis of the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning”. The Government indicates that the achievement of the objectives set out in the context of modernization has been achieved, inter alia via the reorganization of the Employment Promotion Centres KPA2, the redesign and modernization of the OAED portal, the development of e-services and the operation of the OAED Call Centres for Citizens and Enterprises. In particular, the OAED KPA2 have launched a new model of service provision to unemployed and enterprises with a primary focus on personalized counselling using advanced tools including emphasising on the upgraded role of the Employment Counsellors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effectiveness of the reorganization of its labour market institutions.

Article 3. Participation of social partners. The Government stresses the importance of the social partners’ contribution in policy making at the sectors of employment and labour market. The Committee notes that in 2018 the social partners contributed to the establishment of a Strategic Framework for the Redesign of Active Employment Policies. Furthermore, in the context of the technical assistance programme implemented in Greece for tackling undeclared work, a roadmap for combating undeclared work was prepared after consultation with the social partners, outlining an integrated strategy to tackle the phenomenon and promote the transition to formal economy. The Government indicates that in July 2019 it requested the social partners to submit proposals for the reorganization of what is considered the most significant innovation in the history of the Ministry of Labour, the upgrading of the ERGANI Information System. Following this, a Working Team was established in October 2019, to assess the consultation results. The Government reports that the new integrated Information System, “ERGANI ΙΙ” will become an innovation in the relationship between the state, enterprises and workers, supporting at the same time the competitiveness of the Greek economy. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of employment policy measures, including those adopted to address the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.