263. Case No. 470 comprises a complaint dated 22 February 1966 by the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Workers in Electricity and Public Utility Undertakings; a complaint of the same date by the Executive Committee of the Collaborating Employees' and Workers' Organisations " 115 "; and a complaint dated 24 February 1966, followed by a communication dated I April 1966, from the Greek Federation of Press Employees. These complaints were forwarded to the Government as they were received; the Government submitted its observations in a communication dated 6 June 1966.
- 263. Case No. 470 comprises a complaint dated 22 February 1966 by the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Workers in Electricity and Public Utility Undertakings; a complaint of the same date by the Executive Committee of the Collaborating Employees' and Workers' Organisations " 115 "; and a complaint dated 24 February 1966, followed by a communication dated I April 1966, from the Greek Federation of Press Employees. These complaints were forwarded to the Government as they were received; the Government submitted its observations in a communication dated 6 June 1966.
- 264. Case No. 481 comprises a complaint dated 12 May 1966, followed by two communications dated 29 June and 1 August 1966, from the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Workers in Electricity and Public Utility Undertakings; a complaint dated 24 May 1966 from the Staff Association of the Electric Transport Company; a complaint dated 25 May 1966 from the Athens Bus Drivers' and Conductors' Associations; a complaint dated 25 May 1966 from the Athens Gas Company Staff Association and Union; a complaint dated 27 May 1966 from the Greek Water Supply Company Staff Union; and a complaint dated 27 May 1966 from the Athens-Piraeus Public Electricity Corporation Staff Union. These complaints were forwarded to the Government as they were received; the Government submitted its observations in a communication dated 7 September 1966.
- 265. Since in essence the allegations contained in both cases are of the same order, it was decided that the two cases should be examined together.
- 266. The allegations are of three kinds: they concern the mobilisation of civilian workers on strike, the setting up of a Committee of Ministers the function of which, with the help of the armed forces, was to break strikes, and the arrest and sentence of workers and trade union leaders. In the interests of clarity, these allegations will be dealt with separately in the following paragraphs.
- 267. Greece has ratified the Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
A. A. The complainants' allegations
A. A. The complainants' allegations
- Allegations concerning the Mobilisation of Civilian Workers on Strike
- 268 The complainants allege that, in order to break the strikes organised by the workers in support of their occupational claims, the Government has increasing recourse to the mobilisation of civilian workers pursuant to various legislation promulgated in 1939 and 1945. In the complainants' view, the Government's action constitutes an infringement of freedom of association in that its effect is to abolish the right to strike.
- 269 In support of their statements the complainants give the following details. The employees of the Public Electricity Corporation were mobilised four times while seeking wage and salary increases; the employees of the Telecommunications Corporation were mobilised twice while seeking settlement in the matter of social insurance claims; hospital employees seeking a wage increase were mobilised as a preventive measure before the strike even started; transport workers were mobilised while demanding a wage increase and payment for overtime; employees of the State Railways were mobilised while seeking salary increases.
- 270 The Government comments lay stress on the fact that the measures taken by the Government to mobilise civilians are not to be thought of as constituting anti-strike sanctions or as disciplinary measures; they are not intended as an infringement of trade union rights but are designed purely, in accordance with the Act, to ensure the smooth running of services which, if interrupted, would seriously inconvenience the community as a whole and might considerably disturb the country's economy or upset the machinery of the State and the social structure of the nation.
- 271 In support of its argument the Government submits the text of a decision by the Council of State concerning the requisition of technical personnel in the Public Electricity Undertaking, to the effect that those provisions in the national legislation which permit civilian mobilisation when this is to protect the general interest and public order are not, in the view of the Council of State, in contradiction with articles 4 and 11 of the national Constitution relating to personal freedom, freedom of work and freedom of association.
- 272 On a number of occasions in the past the Committee has had occasion to examine cases with similar or comparable features. In those cases the Committee noted that the requisition of workers was of an exceptional nature in a labour dispute in view of the gravity of its consequences with regard to personal freedoms and trade union rights. It also considered that measures such as the requisition of workers on the occasion of a labour dispute could be justified only by the need to ensure the working of essential services or industries whose suspension would lead to an acute crisis.
- 273 Thus, in a case relating to the United States, where the railways were requisitioned and railway workers ordered back to work on pain of dismissal, the Committee considered that in the circumstances of that case the seizure of the railways did not constitute an arbitrary measure intended to restrict the trade union rights of the railway workers, but was an essentially temporary measure dictated by considerations of public interest, taken in order to deal with a national emergency situation.
- 274 In the case under consideration, although it is recognised that a stoppage in the services or undertakings in respect of which requisitions have been made-transport companies, railways, telecommunications or electricity-might be such as to disturb the normal life of the community, it can hardly be admitted that the stoppage of such services is by definition such as to engender a state of acute national emergency.
- 275 The Committee therefore considers that the measures taken to mobilise workers at the time of the disputes described were such as to restrict the workers' right to strike as a means of defending their occupational and economic interests.
- 276 Moreover, the Committee has noted in many previous cases $ that the right to strike may be subject to restrictions in essential occupations and in the civil service. In such cases the Committee has stressed the importance it attaches to the provision of some procedure that will ensure peaceful settlement of such disputes, so that the workers who are deprived of the right to strike may have appropriate alternative guarantees, such as impartial and speedy arbitration and conciliation procedures in which the parties concerned can take part at every stage.
- 277 In view of the foregoing, the Committee, considering that allegations concerning the right to strike come within its competence in so far, but only in so far, as they affect the exercise of trade union rights, feels that it should recommend the Governing Body to draw the Government's attention to the possibilities of abuse involved in the requisition or mobilisation of civilian workers during industrial disputes, and to the undesirability of having recourse to such measures save in exceptional circumstances in order to deal with a situation of acute national crisis; the Committee further recommends the Governing Body to draw the Government's attention to the importance, in cases where the right to strike is subject to restrictions, of setting up procedures that will ensure peaceful settlement of disputes so that the workers who are deprived of the right to strike may be sure of having appropriate alternative guarantees.
- Allegations concerning the Appointment of a Committee of Ministers for the Purpose of Strike-Breaking
- 278 The complainants allege that the Government, by written order of the President of the Council, has set up a Committee of Ministers whose function, in collaboration with the armed forces, is to break strikes. The complainants go on to state that the said Committee has as its Chairman the Vice-President of the Government, and that its members comprise the Ministers of Public Order, Labour, Communications, and Public Works; and that the Minister of National Defence has been invited to appoint a representative from amongst the senior officers of the army general staff.
- 279 In its comments the Government states that the events of 20 August 1965, when on the occasion of a politically motivated strike fires were started, barricades erected and vehicles destroyed in the centre of Athens, combined with the danger of further similar manifestations, had led it to take preventive steps to safeguard the country's social and economic peace.
- 280 The Government argues that it was to this effect that the Council issued the order setting up the Committee complained of, and points out that the order merely constitutes an internal act of the Government in connection with the exercise of the latter's political power.
- 281 Lastly, the Government states that the Committee set up by the order has never met, so that no practical measures have been taken to apply it.
- 282 It would seem clear that the Committee of Ministers referred to in the complaints was set up to deal with a situation of political tension and has no direct connection with the exercise of trade union rights as such. Moreover, in view of the fact that this body has never been called upon to exercise its functions, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that this aspect of the complaints does not call for further examination.
- Allegations concerning the Arrest and Sentence of Workers and Trade Union Leaders
- 283 The complainants make a general allegation that 12 workers, whose names are not given, were arrested on the occasion of the requisition measures taken on 15 April 1965 against the Athens-Piraeus Public Electricity Corporation Staff Union and were subsequently sentenced; no details are given of the nature of the sentences. It is additionally alleged, also in general terms, that two building workers were arrested in January 1966; the names of these persons are not given.
- 284 It is specifically alleged, however, that Mr. K. Terzakis, President of the Athens Building Workers, was arrested in January 1966, "...while engaged in his trade union activities ".
- 285 In view of the fact that this is a specific allegation, the Committee, noting that no reference to this aspect of the complaints is made in the various communications from the Government, recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations in respect of the said allegation.
The Committee's recommendations
The Committee's recommendations
- 286. With regard to the case as a whole the Committee, having regard to the fact that the allegations relating to strikes come within its competence in so far, but only in so far, as they affect the exercise of trade union rights, recommends the Governing Body:
- (a) to decide, for the reasons indicated in paragraph 282 above, that the allegations relating to the setting up of a Committee of Ministers for the purpose of strike-breaking do not call for further examination;
- (b) with regard to the allegations relating to the mobilisation of civilian workers on strike, to draw the Government's attention firstly to the possibilities of abuse involved in the requisition or mobilisation of civilian workers during industrial disputes, and secondly, to the importance, in cases where the right to strike is subject to restrictions, of setting up procedures that will ensure the peaceful settlement of disputes, so that the workers who are deprived of the right to strike may be sure of having appropriate alternative guarantees;
- (c) to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations on the allegation that Mr. K. Terzakis, President of the Athens Building Workers, was arrested in January 1966 while engaged in his trade union activities;
- (d) to take note of the present interim report, on the understanding that the Committee will report further to the Governing Body when it is in possession of the supplementary information specified in subparagraph (c) above.
