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

1. Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Leave entitlements for men and women workers with family responsibilities. The Committee notes with interest that the new Civil Servants Code (Act No. 3528/2007) adopted by Parliament on 24 January 2007 strengthens the previously existing measures to assist civil servants to reconcile work and family responsibilities. Most importantly, the right to childcare leave – either in the form of reduced daily hours of work or a nine‑month period of paid leave of absence – has been extended to fathers, albeit only if the entitlement is not used by the mother (section 53(2)). However, the Committee also notes that male civil servants cannot make use of this entitlement if his spouse is not working, except in cases where the spouse is not in a position to care for the child due to a serious disability (section 53(3)(3)). Further, the three‑month paid leave in the case of adoptions is only available to women (section 52(4)). As noted in its previous comments, Act No. 2527/1997 appears to exclude male public sector employees from paid adoption leave. The Committee considers that these provisions are not in conformity with the principle of equal treatment and that under the Convention measures taken in favour of workers with family responsibilities must be made available to men and women equally. The Committee requests the Government to:

(a)   provide information on the implementation of the provisions of the 2007 Civil Servants’ Code on childcare leave and other entitlements intended to facilitate reconciliation of work and family responsibilities;

(b)   indicate the provisions governing entitlements intended to facilitate reconciliation of work and family for civil servants not covered by the Civil Servants Code;

(c)   indicate the measures taken to ensure that such entitlements are available to men and women civil servants and public sector employees, on an equal footing; and

(d)   provide statistical information on the extent to which men and women workers make use of family related leave entitlements (private and public sectors).

2. Social security. While welcoming the progress made in extending paid parental leave in the civil service, the Committee also notes that parental leave in the private sector is unpaid. The Committee recalls that pursuant to section 6 of Act No. 1483, parents are covered by social security while they are on parental leave, provided they pay the employer’s contribution as well as their own contributions. In this regard the Committee notes that article 7 of the National General Collective Labour Agreement 2006–07 commits the parties to promote a legislative regulation providing for cash payments to male and female employees on childcare leave, and payment of social insurance contributions (CEDAW/C/GRC/Q/6/Add.1, 10 October 2006, page 24). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any further developments in this regard.

3. Article 11. Workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes that in June 2006 the General Secretariat for Gender Equality and major employers’ organizations signed a Protocol of Cooperation for the promotion of equal opportunities for men and women in enterprises which, inter alia, provides for a special programme for the operation of nurseries and the promotion of flexible forms of work organization open to men and women in small and medium-sized enterprises. The Committee welcomes the employers’ organizations’ commitment to study the use of flexible forms of work organization with a view to reconciling family and professional life. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the establishment of childcare facilitates and services and the use of flexible forms of work organization under the 2006 Protocol of Cooperation, including information on results achieved.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.