Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2012, Publicación: 102ª reunión CIT (2013)

Convenio sobre la administración del trabajo, 1978 (núm. 150) - Grecia (Ratificación : 1985)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report dated November 2011, which was received in the Office on 23 February 2012 and contained a reply to the comments made under article 23 of the ILO Constitution by the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) in a communication dated 28 July 2011. It also notes the Government’s report dated 31 August 2012.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Abolition of the Workers’ Housing Organization (OEK) and the Workers’ Social Fund (OEE) in the framework of austerity measures. The Committee notes that according to the Government’s report of 31 August 2012, the OEK and OEE, which are described by the Government as public bodies corporate under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, were abolished and their competences transferred to the Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) by virtue of Act No. 4024/2012 and Ministerial Cabinet Decree No. 7/28-2-2012. The Committee recalls that the OEK and OEE were managed by tripartite boards on the basis of Acts Nos 2091 of 1992 and 2224 of 1994, which had been adopted following long-standing comments by the supervisory bodies under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), (Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, June 1995). In this regard, the Committee takes note of the conclusions and recommendations reached by the Committee on Freedom of Association at its 365th Session (November 2012) in Case No. 2820 concerning Greece. It notes from this case that according to the GSEE, these bodies were crucial to trade union social work and funding workers’ housing and that they provided an indispensable social function (e.g., nurseries, summer camps for children, social tourism for low-income workers during the low season, cultural activities including subsidized tickets for theatres, sports, libraries) which did not burden the state budget, being financed exclusively from employers’ and workers’ contributions. One of the functions of the OEE was to secure minimum financing for trade unions in order to support their operating needs; it has also been the main source of financing for the Organization for Mediation and Arbitration (OMED), enabling it to preserve its autonomy vis-à-vis the State to provide independent mediation and arbitration services for the resolution of collective labour disputes. The Committee refers to its comments under Convention No. 87 on this question. It also requests the Government to indicate, in its report under this Convention, any measure taken or envisaged to ensure the continuation of OEK and OEE projects under the auspices of the OAED, the changes made to the governance structure of these organizations, and whether and how the assets of the OEK and OEE have been distributed.

Articles 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10. Coordination of the system of labour administration in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations and resources at the disposal of labour administration staff. In its comments of 2011, the GSEE described a stifling economic environment in the labour market generated through unilateral legislative interventions which resulted in wage freezes and continuous erosion of workers’ income, redundancies and widespread precariousness. The GSEE referred to unprecedented unemployment levels (which in the meantime reached 25.1 per cent in July 2012 according to Eurostat, from 10.2 per cent in December 2009), which in turn deprived social security funds of vital resources thus making their future viability uncertain and leading to the withering of social dialogue into a summary and superficial procedure.

In its report received in February 2012, the Government refers to extensive budgetary cuts in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security which raise obstacles to the fulfilment of its mission and the proper functioning of its services. The Government also refers to the adoption of Act No. 4024/2011 on “Regulations concerning pensions, unified pay scale and grading system, labour reserve and other provisions for the implementation of the medium-term fiscal strategy framework 2012–15” which, according to the Government, attempts to restructure the system of matching activities with human resources and to connect such a system with a system of incentives related to career and pay in the public administration. The Government indicates that within the framework of Act No. 4024/2011, mainly section 35, a restructuring of the Central Service of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the OAED, which is the main social policy actor in the field of employment, is fully under way in an attempt to reduce the Ministry’s services by 30 per cent in order to satisfy the need to restructure and modernize the units of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, improve its structure and operation and serve the citizens’ true needs. For this reason, a Restructuring Committee was established within the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in order to do a mapping of the existing organizational structure and needs in personnel and to identify the service units which are devoid of object or which have a clearly limited object. On the basis of the findings, a redeployment of classified posts by category and field is being undertaken in order to transfer staff with specific skills to service units that need to be reinforced. According to the Government, Act No. 4024/2011 also provides for automatic dismissals, pre retirement suspension of permanent public officials and the measure of the “labour reserve” for workers in the public sector under a private law contract (i.e., these workers will be paid 60 per cent of their basic salary without working for 12 months after which they will be dismissed). According to the Government, these measures deprive the public administration, including the labour administration, of capable and experienced personnel with know-how. According to the Government, new administrative needs are likely to arise from such dismissals and in combination with the freeze on public sector recruitment introduced by sections 10 and 11 of Act No. 3833/2010 and section 37(37) of Act No. 3986/2011, there will be consequences on the proper delivery of services to the citizens.

In its report of 31 August 2012, sent after the national elections of May and June 2012, the Government indicates that its primary choice is a new model for the organization and functioning of the State and of public administration with a view to providing the country with a rationally organized, functional and efficient administrative system that will serve the public interest, ensure social cohesion, simplify the decision-making process and provide, inter alia, upgraded services to citizens and businesses. Within this framework and in application of section 35 of Act No. 4024/2011, the Ministry of Labour participated (through the preparation of legislative provisions) in the drafting of the Bill on the “Reorganization of Ministries and Public Bodies Corporate” which is to be introduced in Parliament by the Ministry of Administrative Reform and E-Governance. This Bill aims at reorganizing and substantially modernizing the public administration, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, in order to achieve effective and rational organizational structures to the benefit of citizens and businesses. The ultimate goal of this effort is to strengthen the administrative capacity of the Ministry’s units in order to better serve citizens, by providing better quality services and increasing satisfaction levels and confidence in the administration. Furthermore, the best use of available resources and especially of human resources is one of the expected results.

The Committee takes note of the conclusions and recommendations reached by the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2820 concerning Greece, according to which it is of critical importance, given the massive impact that measures like restructuring programmes, successive wage cuts and the labour reserve in the public sector can have, that the Government now engage in constructive dialogue with the social partners to consider appropriate steps for mitigating the consequences of these measures on their employment and working conditions and planning the occupational future of these workers in the light of the country’s opportunities [document GB. 316/INS/9/1, November 2012, paragraph 991]. The Committee refers to its comments under the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), in this regard.

The Committee notes that according to Article 10 of the Convention, the staff of the labour administration system should have the status, the material means and the financial resources necessary for the effective performance of their duties. While being fully aware of the difficulties the country is currently facing, the Committee wishes to underline that sufficient resources for the labour administration system are important in conditions of austerity, unprecedented unemployment and mounting poverty which place increasing pressure on this system. It recalls from the conclusions on labour administration reached by the International Labour Conference at its 100th Session (2011) that experience from the recent financial and economic crisis has shown that labour administration has an essential role among government institutions, as good labour policies and efficient institutions can help to address difficult economic situations, by protecting workers and enterprises against the worst impact of an economic crisis and mitigating its economic and social consequences while facilitating economic recovery [paragraph 3 of the conclusions, Provisional Record No. 19, page 89].

The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the impact of the current restructuring of the labour administration system on the effective performance of its functions and the number, status and conditions of its staff as well as on any steps taken to ensure that this restructuring is carried out in consultation with the organizations representing the workers in the labour administration, so as to mitigate any adverse consequences of austerity measures on their employment and working conditions and plan, to the extent possible, their occupational future in the light of the country’s opportunities.

Furthermore, recalling from its previous comments the need to ensure close coordination of policies pursued in parallel to the framework of structural reforms in the areas, for example, of collective bargaining, wages, social security and employment, the Committee once again urges the Government to indicate the steps taken to ensure an effective coordination of the functions and responsibilities of the system of labour administration in order to address as effectively as possible the grave circumstances with which the country is currently faced.

Article 10(1). Qualifications and training of the staff of the labour administration system. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the need to build capacities in the area of operational programmes under the European Social Fund (ESF) so that they can be managed in a results-based manner, taking into account that 50 per cent of these funds are devoted to human resource development and another major portion to education and lifelong learning. In its report, the Government indicates that the design of all ESF operational programmes contains monitoring and assessment indicators, a significant proportion of which is based on results. Operational assessments for ESF operational programmes managed by the Ministry are ongoing. The Committee requests the Government to communicate the results obtained through these operational programmes and the outcomes of their assessments once they are available along with information on any steps taken in order to address potential areas for improvement, including through training.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2013.]