Labour law only applies to employment in the private sector. In the public sector, labour relations as regards employees of the state, local administration officers and salaried employees governed by public law are not covered by the provisions of labour law, but by the more general public-law regulations. Nor does labour law cover agricultural and maritime labour. Special standards regulate the employment of agricultural workers and seamen, which is the responsibility of the Ministries of Agriculture and the Merchant Navy respectively. Persons working in transportation come under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport. Working conditions in these categories are decided upon in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The sources of labour law are the Constitution, international conventions, laws, customs, collective agreements, arbitration decisions in collective disputes and internal labour regulations.
Constitution: Art. 22, § 2, stipulates that the general terms of labour are laid down by the law and that they can be complemented by collective agreements signed after negotiations or, if negotiations fail, by arbitration.
Art. 4, §§ 1 and 2, and Art. 23, § 1, provide for equality in law and the right to equal payment for the same job regardless of sex or other discrimination: "Employment is a right protected by the state. The state ensures that all citizens enjoy proper conditions of employment. Every employee, male or female, has the right to equal wages or salary for equal work. The state takes the proper measures for the protection of trade unionism and the free exercise of the relevant rights."
International conventions: Greece has ratified 68 ILO conventions, which have become an integral part of national law.
Legislation: A special chapter in the Civil Code includes provisions related to labour (Art. 648-680). These provisions do not specifically refer to employment, but to any type and form of "hiring labour" and complement the statutes or contracts dealing with the provision of labour against payment. Thus, provisions forming a main legal framework on employment apply only when a specific law does not provide for a specific subject and in cases where more favourable conditions for the employee do not exist. Provisions set an obligatory minimum level of rights of employers towards employees and vice versa. More favourable terms for the employees are obtained by collective agreements and arbitration decisions (cf. 2.3 below). There is also a special short and simple procedure followed by the courts in judging labour disputes, as laid down in Art. 663-676 of the Greek Civil Code.
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