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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Greece (RATIFICATION: 1986)

Article 3, paragraph 3. Authorization to carry out hazardous work from the age of 16 years. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 7(5) of Presidential Decree No. 62/1998 provides that certain exceptions regarding the authorization to carry out hazardous work of “adolescents” be made. The Committee requested the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to give effect to Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention by providing that no person under “16 years” of age may be authorized to perform hazardous work. The Committee notes in the Government’s report that section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 62/1998 defines a “young person” as being any person under 18 years of age and an “adolescent” as being a young person having completed his 15th year of age (and hence being 16 years of age). The Committee observes, however, that paragraph (c) of section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 62/1998 seems to define an “adolescent” as a “young person” of at least 15 years of age who has ceased to attend compulsory school in accordance with the relevant provisions. The Committee reminds the Government that according to Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention, national laws or regulations or the competent authority may authorize employment or work as from the age of 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that young persons employed in work that is deemed to be hazardous, pursuant to section 7(5) of Presidential Decree No. 62/1998, may work only as from the age of 16 years, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. The Committee notes the statistics supplied by the Government in its report. The Committee notes that for the year 2006, 2,692 persons under 18 years of age were registered for employment and that, in the same period, the labour inspectorate (SEPE) detected 19 cases of illegal employment of persons under 18 years of age leading to 17 fines and two charges being laid. For the year 2007, 3,129 were employed and the SEPE detected 27 violations yielding 18 fines and nine charges. For the first two months of 2008, six violations were detected yielding three fines and three charges. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, extracts for the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of violations detected and penalties applied involving children and young persons.