Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Greece (Ratification: 1962)

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee notes the observations dated 20 February 2009 from the Greek Federation of Bank Employee Unions (OTOE) on the application of the Convention. The Committee also notes the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association relating to Case No. 2502. The Committee notes that its attention has been drawn by the Committee on Freedom of Association and the OTOE to two legislative aspects:

Intervention by the authorities concerning the provisions of collective agreements relating to supplementary pension funds. The Committee notes that the OTOE’s observations relate to Act No. 3371/2005, which permits the unilateral denunciation of collective agreements concerning the supplementary pension funds of bank employees and provides that the private funds in question established under collective agreements will be automatically transferred to a single public fund. The Committee notes the 2007 conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, according to which “state bodies should refrain from intervening to alter the content of freely-concluded collective agreements. Giving by law a special incentive encouraging one of the parties to these agreements to denounce or cancel collective agreements by which pension funds were set up constitutes interference with the free and voluntary nature of collective bargaining. … Nothing in Convention No. 98 enables the Government to step in and unilaterally determine these issues, much less to unilaterally determine that the assets of a private pension fund, established by collective agreement, can be automatically transferred to a public pension scheme. The establishment of the funds through collective bargaining as well as trade union participation in the administration of these funds constituted a trade union activity with which the Government unduly interfered”. The Committee further notes that a number of court decisions have been issued concerning the application of Act No. 3371/2005, and these have reiterated that the unilateral denunciation of collective agreements was null and void. The Committee observes that, in the light of the above, it has been asking the Government for a number of years to hold full consultations on the future of the supplementary pension funds of bank employees and of their assets so that the related issues are resolved by mutual agreement of the parties to the collective agreements by which the supplementary pension funds were set up (the banks and the representatives of the bank employees), and to amend Act No. 3371/2005 in the light of any agreement reached.

Exclusion of retirement-related matters from the scope of collective bargaining. The Committee notes that Act No. 1876/1990 on free collective bargaining and other provisions states, in section 2(3), that retirement-related matters are excluded from the scope of collective agreements. The Committee notes the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2502, which emphasize that supplementary pension schemes can legitimately be considered as benefits that may be the subject of collective bargaining, and asks the Government to take all the necessary measures as soon as possible to amend section 2(3) of Act No. 1876/1990 so as to ensure that supplementary pension schemes are not excluded from collective bargaining. The Committee fully endorses this recommendation.

The Committee notes with interest the recent communication from the Government dated 6 November 2009 indicating that, owing to a change of majority following the legislative elections of October 2009, its position now coincides with that of the OTOE and new consultations are planned with the OTOE and the Hellenic Bank Association with a view to finding an acceptable solution for all parties regarding the problems posed by Act No. 3371/2005 and Act No. 1876/1990. The Committee encourages the Government to make every possible effort to settle this dispute, which goes back to 2005, and hopes that it will soon be able to report on progress made with regard to the requested legislative amendments. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any new developments in this respect.

Observations from the ITUC. The Committee notes the communication from the ITUC dated 26 August 2009 denouncing the violent assault on trade union leader Constantina Kuneva, general secretary of the Cleaning Industry Union of the Athens Region (PEKOP). Noting the ITUC’s allegation that this assault was directly linked to her trade union activities, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any investigation made into the assault on the PEKOP general secretary and the results thereof.