Rapport définitif - Rapport No. 53, 1961

1. 39. By a joint telegram dated 2 December 1960 the Builders' Trade Union Organisation and seven other Greek trade union organisations lodged a complaint alleging violation of trade union rights in Greece. This communication was transmitted to the Greek Government, which sent its comments by a letter dated 30 January 1961.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 40. The complainants allege that on 1 December 1960, 15,000 strikers from the building industry peacefully assembled in front of the Athens Labour Centre were attacked by police acting on government orders, using firearms, fire hoses, tear bombs, etc., and that more than 100 workers were wounded and 139 arrested.
2. 41. In its reply the Government gives the following account of the facts. The Builders' Trade Union Organisation had called a meeting of its members which was to be held at 9 a.m. on 1 December inside the Athens Labour Centre hall. The meeting took place without hindrance, in accordance with article 10 of the Greek Constitution. Moreover, as the number of persons exceeded the capacity of the Labour Centre hall the police authorities stationed in front of the building authorised a large number of persons to meet outside. The Government points out that the police were in no way obliged to grant this permission, and that, under article 10 of the Constitution, they would have been quite justified in forbidding the outdoor gathering, had they considered that it might represent a danger to public order.
3. 42. During the meeting five trade union officials spoke to the strikers both inside the building and outside, informing them of a decision whereby a delegation headed by the president of the builders' union would proceed to the Ministry of Labour and ask the Minister to reiterate his statement made on the preceding day over the radio, with respect to the settlement of the strike. The strikers were to remain at the place of the meeting until the delegation returned.
4. 43. In other words, according to the Government, throughout the meeting of the strikers, both inside and outside the Labour Centre hall, throughout the five speeches and throughout the visit of the delegation to the Ministry of Labour, i.e. up to 10.30 a.m., the police did not intervene in any way, nor was there any curtailment either of trade union rights or of the right of assembly.
5. 44. It was then, the Government further states, that disregarding advice from the trade union leadership not to engage in any demonstration pending the delegation's return, a minority of persons foreign to the trade union movement tried to use the gathering for political ends, inciting the strikers to stage a mass demonstration in front of the Ministry of Labour. At one point stones were thrown at the policemen, about ten of whom were injured, the others being compelled to withdraw. The demonstrators then started marching, barricades were set up, several motor vehicles were set afire, and further clashes took place with the police. Under the circumstances, the police were compelled to use tear gas and fired five warning shots.
6. 45. Certain facts, the Government further declares, prove that the demonstrations had been planned in advance by persons foreign to the trade union movement: the pieces of marble thrown at the police could only have been brought from somewhere else since none could be found at the place of the meeting; moreover, many of the persons present at the meeting, who were subsequently arrested, were not members of the same trade as the strikers.
7. 46. In conclusion the Government states that in Greece trade union rights are not only respected but are actually protected; that, in this instance, not only was no action in restraint of these rights taken, but the police went beyond the strict requirements of the law by authorising some 6,500 strikers to assemble outside the premises designated for the meeting; and that the persons responsible for the demonstration which took place were a few persons foreign to the trade union movement who tried to use the gathering for political ends and caused it to degenerate into a riot by attacking the police.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 47. On many previous occasions the Committee has emphasised that the right to organise trade union meetings constitutes an essential element of trade union rights and that measures taken by the authorities to ensure the observance of the law should not, therefore, result in preventing unions from organising meetings during labour disputes. In the past the Committee has, while indicating that it would have regarded the use of police for strikebreaking purposes as an infringement of a trade union right, rejected allegations relating to police intervention when the facts have shown that such intervention was required by the circumstances, and limited to the maintenance of public order and did not restrict the legitimate exercise of the right to strike in so far as freedom of association was involved.
2. 48. In the present case, it would appear from the explanations given by the Government that, as long as the gathering had the exclusive character of a trade union meeting, no hindrance was opposed either to the gathering itself or to the visit of a trade union delegation to the Ministry of Labour, and that it was only when the demonstration turned into a riot that the police forces had to intervene to restore order.