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Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Greece (Ratification: 1920)

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Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Articles 2, 5 and 6 of the Convention. Daily and weekly limits of hours of work – Uneven distribution of hours of work over a period longer than a week – Temporary exceptions – Overtime. The Committee notes section 42 of Act No. 3986/2011 (O.G. A 152) which permits a system of annualized hours, according to which hours of work may be increased by two hours per day in addition to the contractual eight hours over a certain period of time, provided that the hours in excess of the 40-hour working week, or in excess of any reduced contractual weekly working time, are likewise deducted from the working hours of another period, or alternatively, enterprises may designate 256 working hours out of the total working hours within one calendar year to be distributed by increasing the number of working hours over certain periods of time. In addition, the Committee notes section 10(5) of Act No. 3863/2010, which amends Act No. 3382/2005 and entitles employees to overtime pay equal to 80 per cent the normal hourly rate for exceptional overtime. The Committee recalls, in this respect, its previous comment in which it drew the Government’s attention to the requirements of the Convention that any exceptions to the normal duration of working hours in national legislation and practice: (1) constitute an “exceptional case” where it is recognized that the eight-hour and 48-hour limits cannot be applied (owing to pressure of work), and (2) be introduced through an agreement between workers’ and employers’ organizations transformed into regulation by the Government. While noting the Government’s explanation that exceptional overtime applies to work that is not in compliance with the formalities and procedures of approval provided for by law and, as such, has no legal limit, the Committee is bound to repeat its earlier comment that there seems to be no mechanism in place for the prior control of circumstances which would justify such overtime. On the contrary, it is the very lack of control (in this case, the lack of compliance with formalities and procedures) which appears to justify the use of overtime and, as such, does not appear to be in compliance with the requirements of the Convention. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to bring its national legislation in line with the requirements of the Convention to authorize overtime in industrial undertakings – either with respect to an annualized system or general weekly system – to exceptional cases of pressure of work. The Committee draws the Government’s attention in this respect to Part V, as well as to paragraphs 227 and 228 of its General Survey of 2005 on hours of work, which provides further explanations and examples of good practice with respect to the procedures for the authorization of extension of working hours.

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

The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 3385/2005 on arrangements for the promotion of employment, the enhancement of social cohesion and other provisions which partially revises regulations on working hour limits, overtime pay and the averaging of working hours over a reference period of four months.

Article 6 of the Convention. Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that, under section 4 of Act No. 2874/2000, as amended by Act No. 3385/2005, “overtime employment” is defined as any work performed beyond 45 hours per week for those employed on a five-day working week, or beyond 48 hours per week for those employed on a six-day working week. Employees are entitled to overtime pay equal to 150 per cent of regular remuneration for every hour of the first 120 hours of overtime in the year and 175 per cent for every hour exceeding that limit. The law further provides that every hour of overtime which would not fulfil the necessary formalities and conditions is considered to be “exceptional overtime” and is remunerated at 200 per cent of the regular rate. The Committee understands that the legality of overtime is conditional on compliance with certain requirements, such as advance notice in writing, announcement posted up at the workplace and record-keeping but there seems to exist no mechanism for the prior control of the actual existence of circumstances justifying its use. The Committee wishes to recall, in this connection, that the Convention allows for temporary exceptions to the general standard set out in Article 2 only in exceptional cases of pressure of work and further requires the adoption of regulations to this effect by the public authority after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned. The Committee refers also to paragraph 168 of its General Survey of 2005 on hours of work in which it concluded that in many cases the regulation of exceptions from the normal duration of working hours in national legislation and practice does not correspond to the procedural requirements set forth by the Convention. While, under the provisions of the Convention, regulations determining temporary exceptions have to be made by the public authority only after consultations with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, in many countries no such “vertical” consultations are required. Instead, this issue is frequently governed through “horizontal” consultations between these organizations at the level of individual enterprises. In the light of the preceding observations, the Committee requests the Government to indicate (i) whether overtime in industrial undertakings is authorized only in exceptional cases of pressure of work and, if so, to specify the relevant legal provision; (ii) the maximum annual limit for permissible overtime and exceptional overtime.

Part VI of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning labour inspection results for the period 2002–08 and penalties imposed for infringements of the hours of work legislation. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would continue to supply up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, extracts from reports of the inspection services showing the number and nature of infringements observed and the sanctions imposed, copies of relevant collective agreements, information on the operation of the committees on settlement of working time established under section 41 of Act No. 1892/1990, as last amended by Act No. 3385/2005, etc.