Greek Labour Minister: full compliance with the International Labour Conventions is non-negotiable for us

Greek Minister of Labour Panagiotis Skourletis addressed the International Labour Conference on 9 June. He welcomed the Director’s General Report on the Future of Work, pointing out that the quest for social justice remains a fundamental objective of the ILO. On the contrary, he said, Greece has been asked to question the fundamental pillars of labour protection while in the maelstrom of a deep economic crisis.  As evident today, the tough austerity programme that Greece was forced to implement had a severe negative effect not only on social cohesion, but on competitiveness as well.

He went on by saying that the new Greek government is committed to successfully reactivating social dialogue by restoring the institutional framework for collective bargaining and collective disputes resolution and is thankful to the Director’s-General support in that respect. Here, Minister Skourletis pointed out that full compliance of the Hellenic Republic with the requirements of International Labour Conventions (especially Conventions 98 and 87) is non-negotiable.

He furthermore commended other points in the Future of Work Report, namely that labour systems favouring high employee participation constitute a factor that improves enterprise performance and assured the Conference of Greece’s profound commitment to building a future worthy of the World of Work. He concluded by expressing the expectation that the ILO, at this critical point, will assist Greece in its enduring struggle, fulfilling the Organisation’s role as the Custodian of the International Labour Standards in the constant pursuit for social justice.

Minister Skourletis was accompanied by Alternate Minister for Social Security Mr. D. Stratoulis and met with his Cypriot and Latvian counterparts, Mme Zeta Emiliadou and Mr. Uldis Augulis, the ILO’s Director-General Mr. Guy Ryder and the Secretary-General of the European Trade Unions Confederation (ETUC), Ms. Bernadette Ségol.

Minister's Speech