Definitive Report - Report No 12, 1954

Case No 66 (Greece) - Complaint date: 10-JUL-52 - Closed

131. At its Sixth Session (June 1953) the Committee had before it nine complaints relating to Greece which had been submitted to it for its opinion before being communicated to the Greek Government.

1. 131. At its Sixth Session (June 1953) the Committee had before it nine complaints relating to Greece which had been submitted to it for its opinion before being communicated to the Greek Government.
2. 132. Four of these complaints (the communication of 10 July 1952 from the United Packinghouse Workers of America, Chicago, the communication of 3 September 1952 from the Arab Trade Union Congress, Israel, the communication of 21 November 1952 from the Amalgamated Postal Workers' Union of Australia, and the communication of 4 September 1952 from the Permanent Delegation of the U.S.S.R to the United Nations), referred to the case of Mr. A. Ambatielos and nine other leaders of the maritime trade unions " who were threatened with trial by court martial and death ".
3. 133. The Committee noted that it had already considered the question of the condemnation of these trade union leaders in its Sixth Report I and that, taking into account the observations presented by the Greek Government, it had concluded that the Government had, in so far as it was in its power, followed a policy of mercy by virtue of which the death sentences pronounced against trade union leaders for activities independent of the exercise of trade union rights had been commuted to life imprisonment in most cases and, in certain other cases, to temporary confinement.
4. 134. Since the above-mentioned four complaints did not contain any new element in connection with the allegations on which the Committee had come to a decision in its Sixth Report - which was approved by the Governing Body at its 121st Session (March 1953) - the Committee considered that these complaints did not call for further action.
5. 135. On the other hand, it considered that the five other complaints containing new allegations should be communicated to the Greek Government for its observations. They were so communicated by letter of the Director-General of 14 July 1953, to which the Greek Government replied by a letter of 9 September 1953.
6. 136. At its Seventh Session (November 1953) the Committee considered that it could not come to a decision on these allegations and make recommendations to the Governing Body without further information from the Greek Government.
7. 137. In addition, as the Greek Government had pointed out in its reply that one of the complainants, the Greek General Confederation of Labour, had since changed its attitude, and that the complaint was therefore purposeless, the Committee instructed the Director-General to ask this organisation if it wished to maintain its complaint.
8. 138. At the same session the Committee had before it a complaint by the Trades Union International of Postal, Telegraph, Telephone and Radio Workers, and recommended to the Governing Body that it should be communicated to the Greek Government for its observations." The Governing Body approved this recommendation at its 123rd Session (November 1953).
9. 139. The Greek Government forwarded the additional information that had been requested by a letter of 15 January 1954, and the Greek General Confederation of Labour clarified its attitude in a letter of 7 January 1954.

B. Analysis of the Complaints

• Complaints Presented by the Union of Employees of Athens and Suburbs Restaurants
  140. 140 Three complaints have been presented by this organisation:
       • (a) In the first, dated 18 March 1953, the complainant protests against the arrest and deportation to Aghios Eustratios of its President, Mr. Constantinos Papanikolaou, who had been elected at the meeting of 19-20 January 1953 as delegate to the Greek Workers' General Congress. It is alleged that this step was taken to intimidate the workers so that they would abstain from any action at the time of the 11th Greek Workers' General Congress, which was due to meet in April 1953.
       • (b) In the second, dated 21 March 1953, the complainant protests against the arrests of all members of the Executive Committee of the union in question; it is alleged that these arrests were made because the members of the Executive Committee had protested against the measures taken against Mr. Constantinos Papanikolaou and that they had informed the members of the Union of these measures.
       • (c) In the third, dated 2 May 1953, the complainant protests against the arrest of five members of the Union during the ceremonies of 1 May, under the pretext that they carried panels upon which were written Communist slogans; these slogans are stated, however, to have been of an occupational character.
  141. Complaint Presented by the National Union of Mineworkers of Great Britain (South Wales Area)
  141. 141 The complaint protests against the arrest of certain trade unionists who had been elected by the members of their union as delegates to the Greek Workers' General Congress which was due to meet in the course of the third week in April.
• Complaint Presented by the Greek Confederation of Labour
  142. 142 Mr. Fotis Makris, General Secretary of the Greek Confederation of Labour, sent a telegram to the Director-General dated 4 June 1953, attacking the action of the Greek Government, which was said to have submitted to Parliament a draft law tending to suppress the fundamental rights of workers and, in particular, the right of collective bargaining, and protesting against the arrest of trade union leaders in Greece.
• Complaint Presented by the Trades Union International of Postal, Telegraph, Telephone and Radio Workers
  143. 143 The complaint alleges that Mr. Kokkinos, secretary of a trade union of telephone workers in Athens, was sentenced by an Athens military tribunal in December 1950 because of his trade union activity.

C. Analysis of the Government's Replies

• Letter of 9 September 1953
  144. 144 In its first reply the Government declares that six persons whose identity is given, together with other persons, created incidents during the celebration of May Day; carrying panels on which revolutionary slogans were written, they organised groups and provoked disturbances during which many workers participating in the official celebration of May Day organised by the Labour Centre at the Theatre " Kentrikon " were seriously injured. Legal action was taken against these persons for violating the Penal Code and a brief of the Ministry of the Interior was submitted to the Public Prosecutor of the Athens Court of Common Pleas. The abovementioned persons, having been considered as the originators of these incidents and as dangerous to law and order, were summoned by the Public Security Committee of the Attica Area and, in virtue of a decision of this Committee, were deported for one year to Aghios Eustratios, where they still remain.
  145. 145 In regard to the telegram transmitted by the Greek Confederation of Labour the Government considers that this is a groundless protest, since no law has been passed by the Parliament infringing trade union rights. It also declares that the officials of the Greek Confederation of Labour have already changed their opinion on this question and are now supporting the views of the Government, whose programme aims at improving the fundamental rights of the workers.
• Request for Further Information
  146. 146 At its Seventh Session (November 1953) the Committee considered it appropriate, before making a decision on these allegations, to request the Greek Government to furnish further information on the arrests made before 1 May 1953, on any results of the legal action taken, following the incidents of 1 May, for violation of the Penal Code, and on the grounds for the decision of the Public Security Committee, in virtue of which the deportation was made.
• Letter of 15 January 1954
  147. 147 In its second reply the Government gave the following information.
  148. 148 The trade union of which Mr. Papanikolaou was president was expelled from the Athens trades and labour council on the grounds that it had for a long time ceased to have the character of a trade union organisation and had become an instrument in the hands of the Greek Communist Party. Mr. Papanikolaou was deported for one year not because of his trade union activities but because he was considered as dangerous to the maintenance of public order, under a decision of the Public Security Committee of the Attica Area. Through his illegal, secret activity he had placed himself outside the sphere of free trade unionism and had been disapproved by the Central Organisation of the Free Trade Unions of Greece.
  149. 149 All the persons arrested on 1 May 1953 were officials of the Greek Communist Party who were attempting to further the aims of this Party by violence. They sought to transform the May Day celebration into a political manifestation by distributing leaflets of a violent and anti-national character. They are fanatical and hardened Communists working unceasingly to re-establish the secret organisation of the Party.
  150. 150 The Area Public Security Committees are organs presided over by the Prefects concerned and composed of two judges and the competent police official.
  151. 151 Mr. Kokkinos was, in fact, deported and then condemned to death on 13 December 1950 because of his revolutionary activity, but, following a measure of clemency, this death sentence was commuted to a sentence of life imprisonment; later, following another measure of clemency, Mr. Kokkinos was freed.

D. Analysis of the Reply of the General Confederation of Labour

1. 152. In reply to the request addressed to it by the Director-General on behalf of the Committee with a view to establishing whether it wished to maintain the complaint it had presented, the General Confederation of Labour explained that the complaint contained in its telegram of 4 June 1953 had been presented because of the presentation to Parliament of a Bill providing for the fixing, by decision of the authorities, of conditions of employment of the staff of the bank which had recently been constituted as a result of amalgamation, with the result that collective agreements, the decisions of arbitration committees and other regulations, would lose their validity. The Bill also provided that the same regulation could be applied to any other enterprise of public utility through a ministerial decision appointing a special committee composed of two representatives of the State and one representative of the employers. As the General Confederation of Labour had expressed its opposition to this Bill, the Parliamentary Committee which was examining it deleted the provision concerning the generalisation of the steps envisaged. After the parliamentary recess a new Bill was presented to Parliament, the application of which was limited to the National Bank and the Bank of Athens. This Bill was adopted in spite of the opposition of the General Confederation of Labour and constitutes Legislative Decree No. 2510.
2. 153. Since then, the Government has accepted a suggestion from the General Confederation of Labour that a Tripartite National Committee on Labour should be convened to examine the causes of the existing disagreement between the Government and the General Confederation of Labour. The report of this Committee is now being examined by the Government. As a result of these developments, the General Confederation of Labour does not consider it opportune to maintain the complaint it had presented.

E. E. The Committee's conclusions

• Allegations concerning the Arrest of Certain Trade union Leaders
  154. 154 The only question which arises is to know what is the true reason for the arrest of the various persons named in the complaint. If the allegations that these persons were arrested for trade union activity were well founded, there would be in this case a limitation on the freedom of association of the workers. But the Government maintains that all the arrests made in March and May 1953 had no connection with the exercise of trade union rights. It affirms that the organisation making the complaint no longer has the character of a trade union organisation, has become an instrument in the hands of the Greek Communist Party and has been expelled from the Athens trades and labour council. It points out also that all the arrested persons are fanatical and hardened Communists who were working unceasingly to reconstitute secret organisations and attempting to further the aims of the Communist Party by violence.
  155. 155 In view of the repeated affirmations of the Government that the measures complained of have no connection with the exercise of freedom of association, were motivated only by reasons of public order and affect only people carrying on illegal and secret activity, the Committee considers that the allegations are of so political a nature that it is not desirable to pursue the case, and that, in these circumstances, they do not call for further examination.
• Allegations concerning the Presentation to Parliament of Anti-Union Legislation
  156. 156 The complaint containing this allegation was presented by the General Confederation of Labour of Greece by a telegram of 4 June 1953; it was later withdrawn by this organisation by letter of 7 January 1954.
  157. 157 The Committee considers that the desire shown by a complaining organisation to withdraw its complaint, while constituting a factor to which the greatest attention must be paid, is not, however, in itself, sufficient reason for the Committee to cease automatically to proceed with the examination of the complaint. It considers in this respect that it should be guided by the conclusions approved by the Governing Body in 1937 and 1938 with regard to two representations submitted by the Madras Labour Union for Textile Workers', and by the Société de Bienfaisance des Travailleurs de l'île Maurice a in accordance with article 23 of the Constitution of the Organisation (now article 24). The Governing Body at that time established the principle that, from the moment Chat a representation was submitted to it, it alone was competent to decide what effect should be given to it, and that " the withdrawal by the organisation making the representation is not always proof that the representation is not receivable or is not well founded ". The Committee considers that, in implementing this principle, it is free to evaluate the reasons given to explain the withdrawal of a complaint and to investigate whether these appear sufficiently plausible to lead one to believe that the withdrawal was made in complete independence.
  158. 158 Indeed, cases might exist in which the withdrawal of a complaint by the organisation presenting it would be a result not of the fact that the complaint had become without purpose but of pressure exercised by the government against the complainants, the latter being threatened with an aggravation of the situation if they did not consent to this withdrawal.
  159. 159 In the present case, the reasons given by the complainant for its withdrawal of its complaint are the following: first, although a Bill was finally adopted in spite of the opposition of the General Confederation of Labour, providing for the fixing by the authorities of conditions of employment of the staff of the National Bank and the Bank of Athens, this Bill no longer includes the provision that the same regulation could be applied to any other enterprise of public utility through ministerial decision, a provision which appeared in the Bill in its original form and which was the subject of the complaint of 4 June 1953; secondly, the Government has accepted a request of the complainant that a Tripartite National Committee should be convened to examine the causes of disagreement existing between the Government and the General Confederation of Labour. The report of this Committee is now being examined by the Government. Because of these developments the General Confederation of Labour no longer considers it opportune to maintain the complaint it had presented.
  160. 160 The Committee considers that the reasons given by the complainant to explain the withdrawal of its complaint show that it acted of its own free will, and notes that in these circumstances the allegation has become without purpose and does not call foe further examination.
• Allegations concerning the Death Sentence on Mr. Kokkinos
  161. 161 It is alleged that Mr. Kokkinos, secretary of a trade union of telephone workers in Athens, was sentenced by court martial in Athens in December 1950 because of his trade union activity.
  162. 162 At its Seventh Session (November 1953) the Committee noted that it had twice had before it allegations concerning sentences on Greek trade union leaders. After close examination of the question, which had necessitated long correspondence with the Greek Government, the Committee had concluded in these two cases that, taking into account the observations presented by the Greek Government, the Government had, in so far as it was in its power, followed a policy of mercy by virtue of which the death sentences pronounced against trade union leaders for activities independent of the exercise of trade union rights had been commuted to life imprisonment in most cases and, in certain other cases, to temporary confinement. It had also concluded, moreover, that there was no reason to doubt the repeated assurances of the Greek Government that no person had ever been sentenced for trade union activities but that the sentences had been imposed only on persons who had rendered themselves guilty of criminal acts. Finally, it had noted with satisfaction the fact that persons who had been sentenced but not yet executed had benefited from the law concerning measures of clemency.
  163. 163 The name of Mr. Kokkinos was not mentioned in the complaints which the Committee had before it earlier, so that it had considered, at its Seventh Session (November 1953), that the Greek Government should be asked whether Mr. Kokkinos had also benefited from measures of clemency.
  164. 164 In its reply, the Government stated that Mr. Kokkinos was sentenced to death on 13 December 1950 and had benefited for the first time from a measure of royal mercy when his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and a second time when he was freed.
  165. 165 In these circumstances the Committee considers that the present allegation does not call for further examination.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 166. In view of all the circumstances of the case the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that the case as a whole does not call for further examination.