Greece
Key Facts
| Population | 11,305,000 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 65% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 24% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
industry – but crisis has given greater role to company negotiations |
| Workplace Representation |
union (works council) |
| Board-level Representation |
yes: state-owned companies |
| Company Board Structure |
monistic |
Trade Union
Between a fifth and a quarter of employees in Greece are union members, but the position is very different in the public and state-owned sector, where unions have high levels of membership, and the private sector, where unions are weak. There are only two major confederations, ADEDY covering the civil service, GSEE covering the rest – but union structures below this level are fragmented.
more ...Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining takes place at national, industry and company level, and in the past the national agreement, normally negotiated every two years, provided a basis from which improvements could be negotiated. However, changes introduced following the 2010 crisis and the provision of IMF and EU financial support, have fundamentally changed the bargaining structure.
more ...Workplace Representation
The local ‘primary level’ unions are the most important form of employee representation in Greece. They have clear legal rights covering information, consultation and negotiation. The law also provides for a works council structure. But in reality, works councils are only found in a few companies, and where they exist, they work closely with the local union.
more ...Board-level Representation
Employee representatives at board level in Greece are only found in some state-owned companies.
more ...European-level Representation
In line with the key role played by the union at workplace level in Greece, it is the local union organisation which has priority in choosing European level representatives.
more ...Health and Safety
A health and safety representative may be elected in all undertakings with at least 20 employees. A health and safety committee may be set up in all undertakings with more than 20 employees.
more ...Financial Participation
Although employee financial participation in Greece has benefited from a favourable legal framework since 1974, it is still not very widespread. There is no distinctive general attitude towards financial participation and no particular initiatives to change this situation either from the employee, employer or government side.
more ...