Interim Report - Report No 217, June 1982

1. 639. The complaint of the Works Committee of the Ofskaramanga Shipyards is contained in a communication of 30 September 1981. The Government's reply was sent in a letter of 10 March 1982.
2. 640. Greece has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 641. The complaint of the Works Committee of the Ofskaramanga Shipyards contains allegations that the employer refused to grant trade union rights within the enterprise and the fact that the employer will authorise only an enterprise-level trade union to serve the interests of the workers.
2. 642. According to the complainant, this case is typical of what happens in the largest enterprise of its kind in the country and which belongs to Mr. Stavros Niarchos, head of one of the most important shipyards of Greece, with the complicity of the Government.
3. 643. The documentation attached to the complaint reveals that the works Committee of the Ofskaramanga Shipyards called a press conference on 16 May 1981 to explain the situation. The Works Committee stated on that occasion that in this enterprise having 5,800 workers, set up in 1958 and covering property of hundreds of hectares surrounded by a perimeter wall four metres high topped by broken glass and barbed wire, the worker, in order to be taken on, has to sign a declaration of loyalty stating that he will not belong to any union. The applicant also has to provide information on his previous and present addresses, and is checked by the security police who summon him as soon as he is taken on. He further has to sign an undertaking whereby he accepts the works rules - described by the complainant organisation as anachronistic - of the shipyards dating from 1963.
4. 644. Order these rules workers must maintain total secrecy on what happens in the shipyard, even if it concerns them personally (article 7(5)); workers owe obedience to the team leaders (article 15(4)). The rules further specify that it is forbidden to read newspapers at the workplace (apart from certain extreme right-wing newspapers such as Eleftheros Cosmos and other non-political newspapers) and that workers must not talk about their work.
5. 645. According to the documentation transmitted by the complainant organisation, on starting at the enterprise the new worker loses his personality, is photographed, receives a new identity card and becomes a member of the enterprise-level trade union. He is then forced to work in extremely harsh conditions, outside in bad weather and inside in dark enclosed spaces covered with oil and waste. Some workers work in double-bottoms which they enter by very narrow manholes and which lack ventilation. They often have to be pulled out when they lose consciousness. In 1973, there were four deaths in a gas explosion in one of these inadequately cleaned enclosures. Some teams known as "commando" teams work in high places without any protection. In 1978, a worker fell to his death from a height of 10 metres and in 1979 a painter was killed when the rope supporting his seat alongside a ship broke. The documentation notes hundreds of accidents which have led to amputations, burns and contusions due to the lack of protective measures. In such cases, the complainant organisation states, the enterprise contrives to show that it is never in the wrong. It constantly requires workers to work at a faster pace, and to do overtime, night work and shift work. All the trades work at the same time so that hot metal sometimes falls on those who are underneath. Accidents threaten on all sides. Those who complain are immediately dismissed for refusing to work, and are not compensated.
6. 646. To maintain order the enterprise allegedly recruited over 100 persons who are armed with truncheons and move about with radios in jeeps or on motorcycles. These persons are constantly on the move inside and outside the shipyards, terrorising, threatening and beating the workers.
7. 647. Still according to the complainant organisation, as early as 1963 the enterprise set up the Triena trade union, which includes all those who are charged with terrorising the workers. The works Committee goes on to explain that in 1975, only score workers were entitled to vote in union elections, which took place on a Sunday, and they were paid a 75 per cent bonus for the day. Other elections took place in 1978. The management then presented carefully selected candidates. Three thousand workers who were compelled to belong to this union were brought along to vote.
8. 648. According to the complainant organisation, refusal to belong to the Triena union can lead to suspicion of contravening law No. 641974, which provides that persons who refuse to uphold the democratic political regime cannot work in state enterprises or enterprises of strategic importance and that they can be dismissed without compensation by the loyalty Council.
9. 649. Nevertheless, the complainant organisation explains that on three occasions the workers tried to form a union and were dismissed en masse. It is alleged that in 1975 there were 550 dismissals and that some workers were beaten; in 1977, there were 65 dismissals and in 1979, 150.
10. 650. The Works Committee, the author of the complaint, adds that it was set up in 1979 and operates clandestinely. It goes on to explain that on 1 January 1980 it called on the workers to refuse overtime and obtained their total participation in this claim, which impressed the management. The management then launched a campaign of terror and dismissals. However, the workers held firm, even though 40 of them were dismissed for refusing overtime.
11. 651. The Works Committee also subsequently decided to join the 24-hour general strike called on 10 November 1980 by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GCLG) to combat unemployment and the rise in prices. This resulted, it is claimed, in acts of violence on the part of those who maintain order through terror in the enterprise. It is alleged that Michalis Kafetzakis suffered a head injury, that P. Levandiotis was beaten and taken to hospital with an eye injury and bruises and that in November 1980 150 workers were dismissed and as many were recruited.
12. 652. The complainant organisation concludes by alleging that 242 workers have been dismissed since May 1980 and that 717 new workers have been recruited since October 1980 which, it states, proves that the employer ignores the laws and that he hires and fires at will in order to have only "well-behaved" workers.

B. The Government's reply

1. 653. In its reply of 10 March 1982 the Government recalls that the complaint in question refers to a period during which the socialist government had not yet assumed power and that, as a result of the political change that had taken place in the country, both the position adopted by the State and its intervention in the protection of workers' rights and the safeguarding of trade union freedoms were henceforth founded on new criteria, the distinguishing feature of which was the keen interest shown by the Government with respect to the workers.
2. 654. The Minister of Labour has asked the competent departments of his Ministry to examine this case carefully and the local Committee of the labour inspectorate has endeavoured, by means of frequent contacts and by inspections, to create an appropriate climate for the workers so that they alone, freely and independently, may choose those of the trade unions which best serve their interests.
3. 655. Concerning the cases of dismissals of workers which took place in the past, the competent labour inspectorate has undertaken the examination of several cases and considers that a good number of them conceal abuses. The Minister of Labour states that actions have therefore been brought before the competent courts and the latter will rule on the validity of these dismissals.
4. 656. Furthermore, a Committee formed of technical specialists has been set up to study the working and safety conditions at the workplaces of the shipyards, and the Minister of labour explains that an initial inquiry has been carried out bringing to light cases of violation of the safety measures. The legal proceedings provided for in these cases have been brought against those responsible, and the management of the shipyards has been directed to respect the existing legal provisions.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 657. In this case the Committee has before it a complaint referring to alleged persecutions by an employer against the workers of the Ofskaramanga shipyards who wish to set up a union of their own choosing outside the enterprise-level union, Triena, which is already in existence and which, according to them, serves the employer's interests. It also refers to the allegedly very bad working and safety conditions obtaining in the workplaces and to many anti-union dismissals.
2. 658. Although the new Government states that the complaint relates to a period during which it had not yet assumed power, it nevertheless replies concerning the substance of the questions, indicating that it has instructed the competent departments to carry out inquiries and is endeavouring to create an appropriate climate for the workers to choose their own trade unions.
3. 659. In view of the seriousness of the allegations in this case, the Committee can only record its deep concern with regard to the difficulties experienced by the workers of the Ofskaramanga shipyards in setting up the trade unions of their choice.
4. 660. While noting the Government's assurances on this point, the Committee wishes to emphasise generally in this respect that all necessary guarantees should be provided so that action shall not be taken to prevent persons who wish to set up a new trade union organisation independent of the existing organisation from doing so. Indeed, as it has pointed out several times, any measures taken against workers for attempting to form a workers' organisation other than the existing one are incompatible with the principle whereby workers shall have the right to establish organisations of their own choosing, and to join those organisations.
5. 661. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate whether it has been possible for the Works Committee of the Ofskaramanga Shipyards to be registered, whether it enjoys legal personality and whether its leaders enjoy the immunities granted by Greek legislation to the leaders of occupational organisations. The organisation has stated that it is operating clandestinely, thus giving the impression that it does not benefit from the protection of the law.
6. 662. As regards the very bad working conditions alleged by the works Committee in the shipyards in question, the Committee, while recognising that these allegations do not concern trade union matters as such, notes the Government's statement that a Committee of technical specialists has been set up to study the working and safety conditions in the shipyards, that an inquiry has brought to light violations of the safety measures, and that legal proceedings have been instituted against those responsible.
7. 663. As regards the allegations that a very large number of improper dismissals have taken place, the Committee also notes the Government's statement that legal appeals have been instituted by some of the persons concerned. In view of the considerable number of dismissals alleged to have taken place because of involvement in labour disputes, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the appeals and trusts that, in order to help bring about an improvement in industrial relations in the Ofskaramanga shipyards, the Government will endeavour to obtain the reinstatement of workers who have been unjustly dismissed on account of normal trade union activities.
8. 664. Finally, the Committee notes that the Government has not supplied its observations on the allegations that order was maintained inside and outside the Ofskaramanga shipyards by about 100 persons armed with truncheons and moving about with radios in jeeps or on motorcycles, or on the allegation that workers who refuse to belong to the Triena union may be dismissed by the loyalty Council for infringing Law No. 641974. The Committee requests the Government to transmit its observations on these aspects of the case.