Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

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

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Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee takes note of the observation of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) that the Government adopted the National Action Plan (NAP) on the Rights of the Child 2021-2023 in June 2021, but that the NAP does not refer to the issue of child labour, and that the GSEE was not officially invited to participate in its drafting and preparation. The Committee recalls that Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146), recommend that, to ensure the success of the national policy required under Article 1 of the Convention, special attention should be given to such areas of planning as national commitment to full employment, poverty alleviation, social security measures aimed at ensuring child maintenance, and adequate facilities for education and vocational training, as well as child protection and welfare. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether such objectives are aimed for under the NAP on the Rights of the Child 2021-23 and, accordingly, to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of child labour in the country. Moreover, it strongly encourages the Government to consult with the representative organizations of workers and employers in developing, adopting and implementing all national policies that may have an impact on the elimination of child labour.

Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee takes note of the Government’s detailed information regarding the monitoring and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. This includes the adoption of Ministerial Decision No. 80016 of 1 September 2022, which classifies the employment of minors as a very serious offence and provides for severe fines, the number of working booklets for minors approved by the Regional Industrial Relations Labour Inspection Units between 2018 and 2021 (a total of 35,212), as well as the number of lawsuits (1) and fines for the illegal employment of minors (69). 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 from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of violations detected and penalties applied involving children and young persons.