Greece

Only around one in eight employees in Greece are union members. There are two major confederations, GSEE, covering private sector and some parts of the public sector, and ADEDY, covering the central, local and regional government, including hospitals and schools. Below this level union structures are hierarchically organised in structures, which are politically divided – sometimes sharply. 1

Union density and structure

There are no official figures for the number of trade union members in Greece, but the trade unions’ own figures indicate they had 612,000 voting members in 2016. In relation to the total number of employees, which was 2,472,100 in the third quarter of 2016, this suggests a union density figure of 25.8%. 2 However, the researchers behind the OECD database estimate that around a quarter of union members are unemployed or retired and are not employees, and that union membership has declined since 2016. Taking that into account, the OECD calculates union density in Greece at 13.4% in 2020. 3

There are two main trade union confederations in Greece: the GSEE, which organises private sector employees and employees in firms and sectors under public control, and ADEDY, whose membership is only civil servants, although these include teachers and hospital workers, as well as those working in ministries and local authorities.

The GSEE had 358,761 voting members eligible at its congress in March 2016 and ADEDY reported it had some 253,564 voting members at its congress in November 2016. 4

In the early 2000s, the two confederations expressed a wish to work together with the intention of moving towards an eventual merger. However, there has been no progress since then.

Greek law provides for three levels of trade union organisation. 5 At the base are the primary level unions, which must have at least 21 members. These primary level unions have legal autonomy, and their operations are governed by law. In the past, the primary level unions were largely occupationally based and often limited to a small geographic area. However, many GSEE primary level unions are now company-based groupings, and they can also be branches of larger national or regional bodies. The result is that, while, in theory, there may be several unions in a particular workplace, in practice, this is less common than in the past.

Above the primary level unions are the second level organisations. In the GSEE, these are either industry or occupational federations, or regional organisations, known as labour centres. The primary level unions decide which secondary organisation to join, and this determines how the primary union sends its delegates to the national congress, whether through the industry/occupationally based federations or through the geographically based labour centres.

Finally, there are the third level bodies, the confederations, composed of second level organisations.

The GSEE is made up of around 150 second level organisations, and its website states (January 2026) that it has 69 industry/occupationally based federations and 80 regional labour centres, both of which have voting rights at the confederation’s congresses. 6

The structure of ADEDY is slightly different. Its primary level unions may be structured on an occupational, geographical or sectoral basis, but its secondary level bodies are all based on government ministries and institutions. In January 2026, ADEDY listed 49 federations on its website. 7 ADEDY does have geographical structures, but these are only for local coordination and, unlike in the GSEE, they do not have voting rights at ADEDY’s congresses. 8

Individual unions

The largest industry and occupational federations in GSEE are: the federation for bank employees (OTOE) with 36,562 voting members; the federation of private employees (OIYE) with 22,709, which states on its website that it has 214 primary level unions affiliated 9; the building union (OMOIKEL) with 12,139; and the power workers’ union (GENOP/DEI) with 12,121. (All figures are for voting members in 2016.) 10

The four largest ADEDY federations are: the primary teachers’ union, DOE ; the secondary teachers’ union, OLME, the public hospital workers’ union, POEDIN, which states it has 80,000 members in 250 primary level unions; 11 and the local government workers, POE-OTA, which states it has more than 50,000 members in 198 primary level unions. 12 Together these four unions make up around 65% of ADEDY’s membership. 13

One result of this structure is that trade unions in Greece are highly fragmented. Although the union confederations have made some efforts to reduce the fragmentation, for example by encouraging co-operation among industry federations, progress so far has been slow.

One reason may be that the financial pressures which have led to mergers in other countries have been less noticeable in Greece, as Greek unions (at second and third level) have depended less on direct income from their membership than in some other countries. For many years, they received an important contribution from the state through a fund into which all workers, whether unionised or not, contributed. This helped to pay for equipment, staff salaries and some overheads, such as postage and telephone costs. 14

However, in November 2012, during the financial crisis that hit Greece, the contributions to the fund were cut by 50% and the OEE, the institution responsible for providing finance the trade unions, among other things, was abolished. A new source of funding for trade unions was subsequently established within the budget of the public employment service (OAED), but since 2012 the amount provided has been sharply reduced.

Political position

The trade union movement in Greece has traditionally been highly politicised with the major political parties represented directly in the trade union movement through organised political groupings.

In the 45-strong GSEE executive elected at the conference in 2023, the largest block, 19 members, came from the PASKE grouping aligned with the social democratic PASOK party, with DAS, the grouping linked to PAME and the Greek Communist Party, in second place with 11 seats. Both these groupings won two more seats than in the elections held in 2020, when PASKE had 17 seats and DAS nine. DAKE the grouping linked to the centre-right New Democracy party, performed worse than in 2020, winning nine seats compared with 11 three years earlier. The EMEIS/ARKI political grouping, linked to the left-wing party Syriza had three seats, the same as in 2020. The remaining three seats were in the hands of two other political groupings. 15

The 85-strong leadership of ADEDY is similarly divided, although here the largest group, with 22 seats in executive elected in 2025, is now DAS, linked to PAME. It has supplanted the DAKE grouping, linked to New Democracy, as the leading group. DAKE now has19 seats, while the PASOK/PASKE, group has 15. The remaining 29 seats are split between six different political groupings. 16

In the past, these divisions have become very bitter and, in 2019, action by supporters of the PAME grouping led to the three-yearly congress of GSEE being twice abandoned after they occupied the congress premises, preventing the election of a new leadership. The president of the GSEE Yiannis Panagopoulos described these actions as “the violent obstruction of the electoral process” and “an attack on the core of democratic politics”. 17

Legal framework 

The Greek Constitution specifically guarantees trade union rights, stating in Article 23 that “the state shall adopt due measures safeguarding the freedom to unionise and the unhindered exercise of related rights”. 18 However, the main legislation governing trade union operations is Act No. 1264/82, For the democratisation of the trade union movement and the protection of workers' trade union freedom. 19 This sets out the three-level structure (primary, secondary and tertiary) of Greek unions as well as rules covering some aspects of trade unions’ internal operations, including financial autonomy, organisation and administration, democratic electoral procedures, as well as protection and time off for union representatives (see Protection against dismissal and Time-off and other resources). It also covers the right to strike (see Industrial action). (In November 2025, Greek employment law was codified with Presidential Decree No 62 and Law 5278/2026. 20 Articles 368 to 386 cover trade unions. However, as these restate the existing position, this text refers to the previously existing law.)

This legislation has subsequently been amended with substantial changes being introduced in 2021. As well as changes in the law covering industrial action, Articles 83 to 87 of Law 4808/2021introduced a requirement for trade unions to register digitally from 2022 and provide the government with information on the number of members, the number voting in internal elections and the results of these elections. 21 This law was strongly opposed by both union confederations, who took a case for the annulment of its implementation to the court. 22 The court found that the legislation breached unions’ constitutional freedoms and individual data protection rights in in certain areas in November 2022. 23

Unions are still obliged to register in this way. 24 However, with many unions stating that they do not intend to comply, it is not clear how far this happens in practice.

Membership trends

The lack of precise figures makes it difficult to record detailed changes in trade union membership. However, the longer-term trends seem clear and show a marked difference between the public and private sectors.

Figures from the OECD database show a fall in union density of almost 10 percentage points over 19 years from 23.2% in 2001 to 13.4% in 2020. 25 The figures also show a much higher level of union density in the public than in the private sector, although they relate to 2016, when they show private sector union density at 15.1%, compared with 25.8% in the public sector.

More recent figures are not available, but it seems likely that the trend towards lower union density, particularly in the private sector, which is dominated by very small companies, has continued.

Women

There are no figures on the proportion of women in unions.

Collective bargaining still takes place at national, industry and company level in Greece, but coverage collapsed following the financial crisis in 2011, as changes imposed by the EU and IMF weakened the legislative framework for bargaining. Some of these measures were reversed in 2018, but the extent of bargaining remains much reduced, although a new agreement between the government, unions and employers at the end of 2025 offers the prospect of some recovery. 26

Collective bargaining coverage and structure

There are no official figures on the proportion of employees covered by collective bargaining. agreement, but it is clear that it has fallen dramatically over the last 15 years and is now below the EU average. The OECD database estimated coverage at 85% in 2011, although other academic estimates were lower at around 65-70%. 27 However, since then the OECD numbers have fallen sharply. Coverage was estimated at 48.1% by the OECD in 2012, 26.3% in 2014 and 13.1% in 2017, the latest figure available. 28

Other sources, which also cover later periods, suggest a higher level of coverage. The 2025 annual report of the trade union research body INE/GSEE suggest that as many as 711,500 employees, 28% of the total, could have been covered by collective agreements in 2024, although this is a maximum number as many of the industry agreements included is this calculation only cover some of the employees in their industry (see Extending agreements). 29

A separate study from two experts from the official mediation and arbitration institution OMED found that around 27% to 30% of employees were covered by collective bargaining in 2024, down from 83.9% in 2008, with coverage much lower in smaller employers (see Variations in collective bargaining coverage). 30

The main reason for the fall in coverage has been the dramatic changes in the legislative framework for bargaining. (In November 2025, Greek employment law was codified with Presidential Decree No 62 and Law 5278/2026. 31 Articles 394 to 421 cover collective bargaining and industrial action. However, as these restate the existing position, this text refers to the previously existing law.)

Until 2010, the framework for negotiations was provided by legislation passed in 1990 (Law 1876/1990), which introduced free collective bargaining and, in the event of a failure to reach agreement, the possibility of turning to the official mediation and arbitration organization (OMED) for mediation and, at the next stage, arbitration. An Arbitration Award from OMED had and continues to have the same legal force as a collective agreement. 32

However, following the 2010 financial crisis, which almost overwhelmed the Greek economy, the role of collective bargaining was dramatically restricted as governments sought to meet the conditions of the various adjustment programmes imposed by the IMF and EU.

This period of imposed austerity and restriction was followed by the left-wing Syriza-led government which attempted to reinforce the role of collective bargaining through changes adopted in 2017 and implemented in 2018. However, these were, in turn, partially reversed by the centre-right New Democracy government, elected in 2019.

The most recent period has seen movement in the opposite direction, as the government has acted to implement the EU minimum wage directive (2022/2041). In 2024, it introduced new legislation intended to strengthen collective bargaining, 33 and, in November 2025, it reached agreement with the unions and employers on a five-year action plan to promote collective bargaining in Greece. 34

Just as before the crisis, the main levels of collective bargaining in Greece are:

• the national level, covering the whole private sector;

• industry/occupation level, covering specific industrial sectors or specific occupations, although these can either cover the whole country or only a local area; and

• company level.

However, these three levels no longer operate in a directly hierarchical way, with higher-level agreements setting terms which lower-level agreements are required to follow.

The agreement reached at national level, known under its Greek initials as the EGSSE, used to set the national minimum wage, as well as dealing with other broader issues like training or teleworking. However, legislation passed in November 2012 (Subparagraph K11, Law 4093/2012 35) removed its role in this area. The national minimum wage is now set by the government after consultation with employers and unions (see Minimum wage). As a result, the EGSSE (national agreement) now only applies to issues other than pay.

Before the crisis, agreements at industry or occupational level provided a basis for pay and conditions, which company level agreements could only improve on. However, legislation passed in October 2011 (Article 37, Law 4024/2011 36) permitted company level agreements to set terms and conditions which were worse than those applying in the corresponding industry or occupational level agreements.

This was reversed by legislation passed in 2017 (Law 4472/2017 37).This stated in article 16 that the previous principle under which employees would always benefit from the most favourable contract applying to them – in other words that company agreements could not set worse terms and conditions than those in the industry agreement – would again come into force at the end of economic adjustment programme, which arrived in 2018.

However, the situation was changed again in 2019, with article 55 of the legislation (Law 4635/2019 38), giving priority to company-level agreements where the company is “facing serious financial problems and in a state of pre-bankruptcy or near-bankruptcy … or financial restructuring”, provided this has been approved by the minister.

As well as producing much lower rates of collective bargaining coverage, these changes produced a major shift away from industry and occupational agreements to agreements signed with individual companies, as shown by the figures of collective agreements registered with the ministry of labour, published by the INE-GSEE trade union research body (see table) 39.

Number of collective agreements: 2010 to 2024

As the table shows, there has been a sharp decline in the number of industry and occupational agreements, at local and, more particularly at national level, with a total of 79 in 2010 dropping to just 18 in 2024. Initially the number of company-level deals rocketed, reaching 976 in 2012, after the new legislation was introduced allowing company agreements (often signed by non-union associations of persons (see Who negotiates?) to set wages below previously agreed levels , but they subsequently fell away and returned to earlier levels, with 238 signed in 2024.

The changes described above (reducing the importance of the national agreement and ending the favourability principle) were not the only measures introduced during the crisis, which affected bargaining. The government also changed the law on who could bargain (see Who negotiates?), how long agreements continued to be effective (see Length and timing of agreements) and under which circumstances agreements could be extended to non-signatory employers (see Extending agreements).

Some of these restrictions have subsequently been removed or are set to be ended. However, the measures introduced because of the crisis continue to limit the influence of collective bargaining in Greece.

Variations in collective bargaining coverage

There are no figures on collective bargaining by industry. However, the study by two experts at OMED, referred to above, identified hotels, the metal industry, the cement industry and banking as areas where industry-level collective bargaining continued from 2013 to 2023. On company level bargaining, the same study found that the likelihood of having a collective agreement fell sharply with the size of the business. In companies with more than 1,000 employees, only 16% of employees were covered by collective bargaining; this fell to 5.4% of employees in companies with between 251 and 1,000 employees; and to 1.2% in companies with 51 to 250 employees.

It is also important to note that pay for government employees is set through legislation rather than through collective bargaining.

Extending agreements

The issue of extending agreements, making an agreement’s terms applicable across a whole industry not just to the employers who are members of the employers’ association which has signed it, is another area, where legislation has changed at least twice since the crisis.

In 2011, legislation (Article 37 of Law 4024/2011 40) removed the right of the minister of labour to extend industry and occupational agreements to employers who were not members of the employers’ association which signed them, a power which previously had been widely used. However, this right was restored with Article 16 of Law 4472/2017 41, coming into effect at the end of the economic adjustment programme – that is from 21 August 2018 onwards.

To be extended, an agreement must be signed by employers employing at least 51% of the workers in the industry concerned, with a largely government appointed body determining whether this threshold has been met. The request can be made by either the unions or the employers in the industry concerned but the decision is in the hands of the minister of labour.

In early 2025 12 agreements had been extended in this way, including six covering hotels in various local areas, two covering tourist and food stores and one each covering the tobacco industry, lift electricians, members of the International Maritime Union and tourist bus drivers in Rhodes.

This number may increase because the five-year action plan to promote collective bargaining in Greece, which the government signed with employers and unions in November 2025, includes changes making it easier to extend agreements. 42

These are:

• reducing the coverage threshold allowing an agreement to be extended from 50% to 40%;

• allowing the threshold to be ignored if agreement is co-signed by national social partners – the main employers’ associations and the GSEE union confederation; and

• allowing the GSEE to co-sign industry level agreements, where lower-level unions structures invite them to do so.

There are some indications which indicate that these changes are leading to an increase of collective bargaining coverage, which is the government’s stated intention (see Trends in collective bargaining).

Allowing local variations

It is legally possible in certain limited circumstances for a company to reach its own agreement, setting lower terms and conditions than the occupational or industry-level agreement which covers it This is where it is “facing serious financial problems and in a state of pre-bankruptcy or near-bankruptcy … or financial restructuring”, and the proposal has been approved by the minister (Law 4635/2019). 43

However, the fact that there are only a small number of occupational and industry-level and agreements (just 18 in 2024 – see Collective bargaining coverage and structure) means that this is unlikely to be a very important issue.

Who negotiates?

Collective bargaining, in most cases, takes place between employers’ federations or individual employers on one side and the unions on the other. There is an obligation, under Article 4 of Law 1876/1990, on both sides to start bargaining, if the other side requests it. 44

Each agreement is signed by the most representative union in the company or industry, defined as the union with the largest number of voting members. The national level EGSSE agreement is signed on the union side by GSEE, although this no longer sets the minimum wage (see Minimum wage).

One of the changes introduced during the crisis was to allow groups of employees, rather than unions, to sign company-level agreements. Under article 37 of Law 4024/2011 these “associations of persons” were entitled to sign company level collective agreements, irrespective of the size of the company, provided at least 60% of the employees belonged to them, and there was no union in the company. 45 At the height of the crisis, they played a major negotiating role. Analysis of the 976 company-level agreements signed in 2012 found that almost three-quarters (72.6%) had been concluded by non-trade union “associations of persons” and that they mostly led to lower wages. 46 In two-thirds of cases where agreements were signed by “associations of persons”, pay was reduced to the new national minimum wage.

Associations of persons now play a much smaller role in signing collective agreements, with most signed by unions.

Industrial action

Until recently Greek legislation included little specific legislation on taking strike action, although the right to strike is protected in Article 23.1 of the constitution.

Until the recent changes, primary level unions (local unions) could call a strike though a vote in the general assembly of the union, although it was necessary to have a third of paying members present for the vote to be valid. Brief stoppages could be called by the executive committee of the local union alone (Articles 19 to 22 Law 1264/1982). 47

At secondary and tertiary level, industry-level unions and the confederations, strikes could be called by the executive committee alone.

There was a requirement to give 24 hours’ notice of a strike to the employer (four days in areas providing key services to the public) and unions were also required to supply staff to deal with emergencies.

However, since 2018, strike legislation has been tightened. In 2018, the quorum necessary to take a decision to strike, other than a brief stoppage, at primary union level was increased from a third to a half of all paying members (Article 211 Law 4512/2018) 48, and, in 2021, a range of more sweeping measures were introduced in Law 4808/2021. 49

This legislation:

• restates (Article 86) that at least 50% of the paying members of the primary union must be present (either physically or remotely) to take a decision on strike action;

• imposes a requirement to give 24 hours’ notice for brief stoppages (as well as longer ones) (Article 91);

• threatens prison for those who try to prevent strike breakers from working (Article 93);

• in public sector strikes, requires unions to submit a request for dialogue to the arbitration service OMED, during which period strikes cannot begin (Article 94); and

• requires unions to allow enough staff to continue working s to ensure that the company’s facilities are secured, and, in a range of public services, provide a minimum service level (defined as one third of the service normally provided) during the strike (Article 95).

There are no official figures on the number of strikes in Greece. However, the Eurofound report on developments in working life in Greece in 2024, list four general strikes, and 11 other substantial strikes during the year. 50 They primarily made political and general economic demands rather than relating to specific collective agreements.

Length and timing of agreements

Collective agreements can last between a minimum of one and three years. 51

They continue to apply in full for three months after their expiry, and terms relating to basic pay, payments linked to service and allowances related to dependent children, education and hazardous work continue to apply after this three-month period, but only as part of each individual’s contract of employment. However, as part of the action plan to strengthen collective bargaining agreed at the end of 2025, the government intends to return to the situation before the crisis, when agreements continued in force until a new agreement had been signed. 52

The agreement reached at national level, the EGSSE, typically lasts two years, but this is not always the case. In contrast to other agreements, the national agreement lasts for six months after its expiry date.

Subjects covered in agreements

In the past, the national agreement, the EGSSE, had an important role in extending the scope of the issues covered by collective bargaining, including topics like working time and health and safety. However, this has been less the case following the crisis, and since 2021, the EGSSE has simply extended the validity of previous agreements for a further two years, although the 2024 agreement also covered the establishment of a new training institution. 53 The 2021 agreement was more extensive, covering training, digital skills, the transition to the green economy and sexual harassment, largely through the establishment of joint working groups.

Negotiations at lower level generally cover a more restrictive range of topics, although industry-level agreements can cover working hours, training and a wide range of allowances. Company-level agreements normally concentrate on pay.

Trends in collective bargaining

The years following the crisis saw a dramatic reduction in the scope and coverage of collective bargaining. The national minimum wage, which previously was negotiated between unions and employers, has, since 2012, been set by the state and bargaining coverage, as estimated by the OECD, fell from 85% in 2011 to 13% in 2017 (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure).

However, in order to comply with the requirements of the EU’s adequate minimum wage directive and promote collective bargaining the government reached a new agreement with the unions and employers at the end of 2025, which made important changes in the legislative framework. This seems to be having an impact, with two important deals, one covering around 510,000 employees in tourism and catering and the other covering 23,000 employees in the confectionery and bakeries industry, being signed in March 2026. 54

Minimum wage

Greece has a national minimum wage in the private sector. (Pay in the public sector is set by the government.) Before the crisis, the level was set by agreement between the unions and the employers at national level. However, since 2012 it has been set by the government, and, since 2018, there has been a precise process for consulting employers and unions, as well as labour market and industrial relations experts, which, in February 2019, led to the first increase in the national minimum wage since 2012.

This process, although under different legislation (Article 15 of Law 5163/2024 55), will continue until 2027. However, from 2028 onwards a different automatic uprating of the minimum wage will apply. This will be based on annual increase in consumer prices for the poorest 20% of households plus half the general real increase in earnings (the increase in the earnings index less inflation). This mechanism, which is similar to that used in France, can be set aside in exceptional circumstances (Article 6 of Law 5163/2024).

Joint employer/union body at national level

There is an economic and social council in Greece (OKE), which consists of an employers’ and employees’ group (from the union confederations GSEE and ADEDY), as well as a group representing other interests, such as the professions, agriculture and the disabled. 56 It produces advisory opinions on a range of issues, both on its own initiative and in response to draft legislation. However, its role is limited. This was particularly evident during the crisis, as governments frequently acted without consulting unions or employers. 57

The local ‘primary level’ unions are the most important form of employee representation in Greece. They have clear legal rights covering information, consultation and negotiation, although non-union bodies also have negotiating powers. The law also provides for a works council structure. But in reality, works councils are only found in a few companies, and where they exist, they work closely with the local union.

The basic structure

The legal rights which the local union, the primary level union organisation, exercises in the workplace have, until recently, provided the key to the representation of employees in Greece. Primary level union organisations have extensive rights to information and consultation under the 1982 Trade Union Democracy Act (Law 1264/1982), and in 1990 these rights were extended to negotiation (Law 1876/1990).

Works councils can exist alongside the primary level unions, under legislation passed in 1988 (Law 1767/1988), but their position is clearly less powerful than that of the unions and they have not been widely set up, other than in larger companies. (The rules are also different in the "state sector" such as public utilities and transport.) In practice, only a few companies have works councils, and if there is no union, there will generally not be a works council. (In November 2025, Greek employment law was codified with Presidential Decree No 62 and Law 5278/2026. 58 Articles 425 to 450 cover works councils and information and consultation. However, as these restate the existing position, this text refers to the previously existing law.)

The crisis has also resulted in the emergence of another body representing workers, the so-called “associations of persons”. Although it has been possible to set up associations of persons since 1982, before 2011:

• they could only have a temporary existence – normally six months;

• they could only be set up in small companies – fewer than 40 employees; and

• they could not sign collective agreements.

However, under the arrangements introduced in 2011 (Law 4024/2011) there is now no limit on how long they operate, and they can sign collective agreements for companies of any size, provided there is no union in the company and 60% of the workforce belongs to the association of persons. Those representing the associations of persons have no permanent mandate and no protection against mistreatment by the employer. In the period 2011 to 2013, they were used to promote increasingly decentralised bargaining and pay cuts (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure).

In addition to these bodies, health and safety delegates should be elected in workplaces with more than 20 employees and a health and safety committee should also be set up in workplaces with more than 50 employees (see Employee health and safety bodies).

The extent of workplace representation

Figures from Eurofound’s 2019 European Company Survey show that just 2% of establishments in Greece with at least 10 employees had some form of official employee representation in 2019, and in most if not all cases this was through a local trade union body. 59

The Greek figure is the lowest of any EU state and well below the EU average of 28%. As elsewhere in Europe, larger organisations are much more likely to have employee representation than smaller ones. The survey shows 25% establishments with more than 250 employees having representation, and 7% of those with between 50 and 249 employees. However, in smaller workplaces in Greece, those with between 10 and 49 employees, only 1% have employee representation.

The figure of just 2% of establishments having employee representation is a dramatic reduction on the 14% who had employee representation just six years earlier in 2013. 60

Separate figures from Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey 2024, based on the number of employees rather than establishments, show that 41% of employees in Greece have representatives where they work, which in most cases will be the local union. This percentage is also below the EU average of 53%. 61

The role of unions

The 2019 Eurofound company survey quoted above (see The extent of workplace representation) reports that employee representation is almost always though unions rather than through works councils.

Unions also have a role in setting up works councils where they exist, as the request to set them up must come either from the primary level union or from 10% of the workforce.

Numbers and composition

A primary level trade union with members at the workplace has a range of rights, irrespective of the number of members or employees, although to be a separate union it must have at least 21 members.

The law lays down clear rules as to how primary level unions should operate. They must elect an executive committee, which should include a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. There are no rules as to how many members there should be on the union executive committee, but the law does stipulate how many members in a workplace are given protection against dismissal (see Protection against dismissal). These numbers increase with the size of the workplace (see table).

The union committee meets as required but union workplace representatives should be able to meet the employer at least once a month.

Where there is no union, the employees themselves can come together to establish an association of persons, although this body can only sign agreements if at least 60% of the employees belong to it (see The basic structure). An association of persons can be set up by at least 10 employees and should have at least two representatives. 62

Works councils can only be set up in larger workplaces, with 50 employees or more. All those with a contract of employment are counted, irrespective as to whether it is full or part-time. Agency workers are not included in the calculation. (Works councils can, in theory, also be set up in workplaces with between 20 and 49 employees if there is no union. However, in practice, this does not occur.)

The request to set up a works council must be made either by the primary level union or by 10% of the workforce. They are elected by the whole workforce and consist only of employees. (There are no representatives of the employer.) The number of works council members increases with the size of the workplace (see table).

The operation of the representative structures

The law lays down clear rules as to how primary level unions should operate. They must elect an executive committee, which should include a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer.

The union executive committee meets as required but union workplace representatives should be able to meet the employer at least once a month.

The works council should meet at least once a month, and should meet the employer once every two months, or more frequently if either side requests it.

Election and term of office

Elections to the executive committee of the primary level trade union must take place at least every three years. The voting should be at an assembly of the members and should be secret.

Legislation passed in 2021 added additional conditions to the election of the executive committee of the primary union, including a requirement that electronic voting must be provided to members unable to attend (Article 87 Law 4808/2021). However, this whole package of legislation was fiercely resisted by the unions as an unconstitutional interference in their own internal affairs, and it is not clear if it had a practical impact.

Representatives of an association of persons should also be elected. There is no specific term of office.

Works council members are elected every two years in a secret ballot in an assembly of the workforce. Candidates must have at least two months’ service, and employers and managers are not eligible to stand.

Tasks and rights

As well as the basic trade union tasks such as collecting trade union subscriptions, union workplace representatives in Greece have information, consultation and negotiating rights, although these are defined fairly generally.

The union’s information and consultation rights begin with the monthly meeting with the employer where the two sides should "attempt to resolve any problems relating to workers or their union organisation". Trade union representatives can also be present at inspections carried out by the ministry of labour.

In addition, as part of the negotiating process, the trade union representatives have a right to ask for information on the economic position and plans of the company, as well as its personnel policies.

Issues where the union representatives should be consulted in advance include large-scale redundancies, changes in the legal form of the business, and changes in working conditions, and the two sides should try to reach an agreement through negotiation.

The union at the workplace also has a more general negotiating role.

In the absence of a union, an association of persons at the workplace has the right to negotiate, but only if 60% of employees belong to it.

The rights of the works council at the workplace are more extensive, where such a body exists, including both information and consultation and some co-decision making.

The works council should be kept informed of the overall economic position of the business, including its annual report and accounts. It has rights to advance information on:

• changes in the legal form of the business;

• any transfer or major change of production capacity;

• the introduction of new technology;

• changes in the structure of the workforce including increases or decreases;

• the planning of any overtime; and

• yearly health and safety investment plans.

The works council also has the right to make proposals on improving productivity and working conditions.

In addition, there are a number of areas where the works council is able to take decisions "in agreement with" the employer. These cover:

• training;

• the use of new technology;

• works regulations;

• the monitoring of employees’ attendance and behaviour;

• holiday arrangements;

• the return to work of those who have suffered an accident at work;

• health and safety rules; and

• social and cultural activities.

If there is no agreement on these issues the dispute is to be settled through the mediation and arbitration service OMED.

Where there is no trade union, the works council also has consultation rights over large scale redundancies and variations in working time – as already stated, this reflects more a theoretical than a real possibility.

The predominance of the union channel for decision-making is emphasised by the fact that all these areas can be settled through negotiated agreements between the employer and the union, and that, if such a negotiated agreement is reached, it takes precedence over any arrangements agreed with the works council.

Protection against dismissal

Both union representatives and works council members benefit from the same level of protection, although the number of union representatives who have protection against dismissal is limited. The legislation governing the setting up of works councils (Law 1767/1988) states specifically in Article 9 that works council members “enjoy the protection provided to the executives [key figures] of the trade union”. 63

This protection is set out in the legislation governing the operation of trade unions (Law 1264/1982 Article 14). 64 However, the rules were significantly changed, and protection weakened by a number of major changes to employment and trade union law introduced as a package of legislation in 2021 (Law 4808/2021), with the rules on protection dealt with in Article 88. 65

The present situation is that some union representatives (described as union executives in the legislation) have some protection against dismissal. (The number depends on the number of union members – see below.) They may only be dismissed for an “important reason” (Law 4808/2021 Article 66), using the same approach as is used to protect pregnant women and mothers returning to work (Law 1483/1984). 66

This is to be determined in the courts after dismissal, although the legislation also provides for a accelerated procedure, so that a hearing can take place within five days of the case being brought (Law 1264/1982 Article 22 (4)).

This is a significantly weaker level of protection than that which existed before these changes, when union executives and works council members could only be dismissed for a specific set of reasons, such as the disclosure of company secrets or violence against the employer or their representatives, and when dismissal had to be preceded by a decision of a special committee.

The 2021 legislation also reduced the number of union executives protected in this way. Currently, where there are up to 200 union members, five union executives are protected (previously seven); where there up to 1,000 members, seven executives are protected (previously nine); and where there are more than 1,000, nine are protected (previously 11) (Law 4808/2021 Article 88).

The legislation also provides a hierarchy to decide who is protected. Unless the statutes of the union provide for alternative arrangements, the order in which union executives are protected is as follows: president, vice president, general secretary, deputy general secretary and treasurer, with other union executives protected in the order in which they are elected.

Where there are several unions at a workplace the total number of union executives protected against dismissal cannot be more than twice the totals listed above. The proportion of protected union executives allocated to each union is in line with the proportion of all union members who voted for that union.

This protection against dismissal lasts throughout their period of office and for a further 12 months beyond that. They are also protected against being transferred unless this is “absolutely necessary for the operation of the business or for health reasons”.

These arrangements apply when there already is a union or unions at the workplace. When a union is set up for the first time and the company has more than 80 employees, the first 21 union members are protected for a year, or six months if a union is not established.

Time-off and other resources

The president, vice-president and general secretary of the primary level union in a workplace are each entitled to five days a month time off if their union has more than 500 members. If their union has fewer than 500 members these same office holders are entitled to three days’ time off a month. Members of the second largest union in a workplace are entitled to one third of this amount. In all cases, this time off is unpaid.

The union is entitled to the use of a notice board. And provided that there are at least 80 employees, the employer should provide the union with the largest number of members in the workplace with a meeting room (meetings to take place outside working hours). Where there are more than 100 employees, the employer should provide office space to the union with the largest membership.

As part of the changes introduce in 2021 (Article 89, Law 4808/2021 67), all unions with employees in the workplace have the right to a website on the employer’s intranet or similar website to which all employees have access. The costs are borne by the employer, and the contents are decided by the union

The chair and all other members of the works council are entitled to two hours off a week for works council business.

There are no specific time-off rights for representatives of an association of persons.

The works council must be given access to a notice board and should have office space in workplaces with more than 100 employees. The works council can also, with the agreement of the employer, use external experts, particularly on health and safety questions.

Training rights

There are no specific training rights for workplace trade union representatives, and this situation did not change as a result of the major revision of trade union rights, introduced as part of new employment legislation in 2021 (Law 4808/2021). 68

Members of the works council have a legal right to 12 days’ paid leave during their two-year period of office, to take part in training organised by the most representative higher-level trade union body covering the industry in which they work. 69

Representation at group level

In groups of companies the works councils of the different subsidiaries can appoint some of their number as representatives to co-ordinate their activities.

Employee representatives at board level in Greece are only found in some state-owned companies. Typically there will only be a single employee representative on the board. 70

The extent of board-level employee representation

There is no legal obligation for employee representation to be present at board level in the private sector. In practice, only state-owned companies have employee representatives on their boards.

The statutory basis for their presence on company boards is provided by two separate pieces of legislation, Law 3429/2005 and Law 4972/2022. 71 Both statutes cover state-owned companies but, while Law 4972/2022 it covers companies where the share capital is owned “directly and in absolute majority by the Greek state”, Law 3429/2005 covers companies in which the Greek state “may exercise direct or indirect decisive influence, due to its participation in its share capital or its financial participation or the rules governing it”.

In that sense, the earlier law has a slightly broader scope than the 2022 legislation. However, where a company is covered by both statutes, as will generally be the case, Law 4972/2022 states in Article 46.2 that the later legislation has priority and Law 3429/2005 does not apply.

There is no guarantee that a state-owned company will have employee representation on its board of directors, as both statutes state that this only occurs where this is provided for in its own “articles of association or in law” (Article 7.1 Law 4972/2022) or “according to what is defined in its statutes” (Article 3.2 Law 3429/2005).

In practice, only some state-owned companies have board-level employee representatives. They include the postal services company ELTA, two water supply and sewage treatment companies EYDAP and EYATH, and exhibition services company Helexpo, the market and fisheries organisation OKAA, the Athens transport company OASA, the urban railways company STSY and the main market in Thessaloniki CM TH SA.

Typically, there will be one employee representative out of a board with seven or nine members, but in the two water and sewage companies there are two employee representatives, out of 13 at EYDAP and out of 11 at EYATH. 72

Privatisation, which was an important element of the measures required under the bailouts following the crisis, has reduced the number of employee representatives at board level. For example, when the formerly state-owned telecommunications company OTE was privatised, it lost its employee board members.

Nomination and election of employee representatives

The process for choosing board-level employee representatives varies slightly between the two statutes.

Under Law 3429/2005 in article 3.2, they are nominated by the most representative secondary level union in the company, in other words the largest industry level union. Only if there is no secondary level union do nomination rights transfer to the largest primary union, the local union structure.

Under Law 4972/2022 in Article 7.4 they are nominated by the largest union in the company, irrespective as to whether it is a primary or secondary level union.

All employees can vote, and under the earlier 2005 legislation, a candidate must get a total majority of voters to be elected. If this does not happen there is a run-off between the two candidates with the most votes, with the seat being given to the winner. The 2022 legislation only stipulates that the election must take place in the presence of a judicial representative.

In practice it is the political groupings in the unions who put forward the candidates and seek support from employees. The individuals chosen are sometimes senior figures in their union. For example, Vania Andreou, the employee representative on the board of the postal services company ELTA is president of the Panhellenic Federation of Postal Unions (POST). 73

Employee representatives at board level are not subject to the requirement that applies to other members to have a degree and five years’ experience in the public sector.

(Article 8.3 Law 4972/2022). It is also not clear how the requirement that at least one third of the members of the board should be from the underrepresented group (normally women), set out in Article 8.7 of Law 4972/2022, applies.

The rights of employee representatives

Employee representatives at board level have the same rights and duties as other board members. Their term of office, set out in Article 7.4 of Law 4972/2022 is six years, the same as that for other directors.

In line with the key role played by the union at workplace level in Greece, it is the local union organisation which has priority in choosing European level representatives.

European Works Council

Greek members of the special negotiating body (SNB) are chosen in the following order of priority: by trade union organisations, by the works council, or, as a last resort, by a ballot of all employees. The legislation (Law 4052/2012, Article 70) does not specify whether or not the individuals must be employees of the company. (In November 2025, Greek employment law was codified with Presidential Decree No 62 and Law 5278/2026. 74 Articles 451 to 477 cover European works councils. However, as these restate the existing position, this text refers to the previously existing law.)

The position is the same for members of an EWC set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, except that in this case the individuals must be company employees.

European Company

Under the transposition legislation, set out in Presidential Decree 91/2006, 75 Greek members of the special negotiating body (SNB) are chosen by the union organisation in the company. Only if there is no union are they chosen by the works council; and if there is no union or works council by a ballot of all the employees. The legislation does not specify whether the individuals must be employees of the company. (In November 2025, Greek employment law was codified with Presidential Decree No 62 and Law 5278/2026. 76 Articles 478 to 490 cover employee representation in European Companies. However, as these restate the existing position, this text refers to the previously existing law.)

The position is the same for Greek members of the SE representative body set up under the annex to the directive, and again the legislation does not specify whether or not they must be employees of the company.

The situation is slightly different for choosing employee board members under the terms of the annex to the directive. The Greek legislation does not lay down a national method for making the choice but leaves the selection in the hands of the SE representative body.

Health and safety representation in Greece is provided through separately elected health and safety representatives or a health and safety committee in larger companies. The committees are employee bodies, but they or the health and safety representative should meet the employer on a regular basis.

Employee health and safety bodies

In smaller companies, employees have the right to have a health and safety representative and in larger companies there is a health and safety committee (Επιτροπής Υγείας και Ασφάλειας των Εργαζομένων (Ε.Υ.Α.Ε.))

Numbers and structure

In companies employing 50 people or fewer, there is a single safety representative, although the way he or she is chosen varies depending on whether the company employs 20 or more. In companies with more than 50 employees a health and safety committee can be elected. The size of the committee varies with the number of employees, as follows.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2019 found that 26% of workplaces in Greece had health and safety representatives and 15% had a health and safety committee. These are well both below the EU27 averages, which are 56% for health and safety representatives and 22% for health and safety committees. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.) 77

Figures from a later survey, Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey 2024. which looked at employees rather than workplaces, show that that 31% of employees in Greece report having an occupational health and safety delegate at their workplace. This percentage is the second lowest in the EU (only Bulgaria has a lower proportion, and well below the EU average of 60%. 78

In practice, the situation may be even worse than this, as in an earlier study on worker participation in the management of health and safety EU-OSHA found that “a significant number of companies reported having some kind of worker representation although they had none”, and concluded that, “the vast majority of companies do not have worker representation at all”. 79

Tasks and rights

Both the health and safety representative and the health and safety committee have an advisory role. Their main responsibilities are:

• to look at working conditions in the company, monitor compliance with health and safety provisions and make proposals for improvement;

• where there are serious accidents or other occurrences to make proposals as to how they could be avoided in the future; and

• to assist with risk assessment in the company.

The health and safety representative or the health and safety committee (depending on the size of the company) should be informed by management about accidents and occupational diseases, as well as the introduction of new production processes and working methods, in as far as they have an impact on health and safety. They are able to call on the employer to respond appropriately to any imminent and serious threat, including by halting production. They can also approach the labour inspectorate if they consider the employer’s approach on health and safety to be insufficient.

There should be regular joint meetings with management (see below) and minutes of these meetings should be kept.

Frequency of meetings

The health and safety representative or the health and safety committee should meet the employer or the employer’s representative once every three months, within the first 10 days of the quarter and both sides should inform the other of the issues they wish to raise at least three days before the meeting.

Election and term of office

In companies with fewer than 20 employees the health and safety representative is chosen by a majority of employees in an informal way.

In larger companies more detailed election procedures are laid down. Where there is a works council, which can be set up in companies with 50 employees or more (20 or more in some circumstances), it chooses the members of the health and safety committee. Where there is no works council – the normal situation – the members of the committee or the health and safety representative are elected at a general meeting of the company’s employees.

The term of office is two years.

Resources, time off and training

The health and safety representative or, in larger companies, the members of the health and safety committee have an entitlement to paid time off for their duties. In total, this should not be less than 8.3 hours a year for a company employing up 20 people, 16.7 hours a year for a company employing between 21 and 50 people and 25 hours a year for companies employing more than 50 people – longer in more hazardous industries. These figures are equivalent to one-third the time for which the specialist safety technician (see Other elements of workplace health and safety) must be employed. This does not include meetings with the employer.

They also have the right, with the agreement of the employer, to request the assistance of outside experts.

The health and safety representative and the members of the health and safety committee also have the right to appropriate training although the details are not specified in the legislation.

Protection against dismissal

The health and safety representative and the members of the health and safety committee have legal protection against dismissal. They can only be dismissed in certain closely defined circumstances, such as the disclosure of secret information or the use or threat of violence or abusive language towards the employer.

However, the reality may sometimes be very different to the legal situation. The EU-OSHA report on worker participation in the management of health and safety found cases where participation in a health and safety committee “was the reason for a negative performance evaluation or the dismissal of an employee” 80.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

Legally all employers, even the smallest are required to make use of the services of a health and safety specialist (technician), and larger companies, those with 50 or more employees, must use the services of an occupational physician (works doctor) as well as a health and safety specialist. These services can be provided internally, by direct employees, or externally by a specialist health and safety organisation, or by a combination of these two approaches. If an external organisation is chosen, there must be a written contract, and the arrangement must be notified to the Labour Inspectorate.

However, in organisations with fewer than 20 employees operating in industries with lower levels of risk, such as offices, shops and restaurants, employers can assume the duties of the health and safety specialist provided they have had appropriate training. (This threshold was brought down from 50 employees in Presidential Decree 62/2025 introduced in 2025. 81)

In larger organisations and those with a higher level of risk, the level of training and skill required, as well as the length of time to be spent on health and safety duties, varies in line with the number employed and nature of the industry.

National context

The ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity (Υπουργείο Εργασίας, Κοινωνικής Ασφάλειας & Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης), through its Directorate for Safety and Health at Work (Γενική Διεύθυνση Υγείας και Ασφάλειας στην Εργασία). The Labour Inspectorate (Σώμα Επιθεώρησης Εργασίας, ΣΕΠΕ – SEPE) monitors compliance with health and safety laws and regulations in the public sector and in most private sector industries, although there is a separate inspectorate for mining and quarrying.

Trade unions and employers are able to influence health and safety policy through their membership of the Council for Health and Safety at Work (Συμβούλιο Υγείας και Ασφάλειας των Εργαζομένων, ΣΥΑΕ – SYAE). This also includes representatives of key government ministries and local authorities, as well as the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE), the Pan-Hellenic Medical Association (PIS) and the Greek Chemists’ Association EEX. There is also a tripartite consultative body, the Council for Social Control of the Labour Inspectorate (Συμβούλιο Κοινωνικού Ελέγχου Επιθεώρησης Εργασίας, ΣΚΕΕΕ – SKEEE) for the Labour Inspectorate. Finally, employers and unions work together in the jointly-run Hellenic Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (Ελληνικό Ινστιτούτο Υγιεινής και Ασφάλειας της Εργασίας, ΕΛΙΝΥΑΕ – ELINYAE) which provides expertise, analysis and training on health and safety issues. 82

Key legislation

Articles 495 and 533 of Presidential Decree 62/2025 (Labor Law Code) as amended respectively by articles 27 and 37 of Law 5239/2025 and articles 494, 496, 497, 512, 536, 538 of Presidential Decree 62/2025 as in force

Άρθρο 495 και 533 του ΠΔ 62/2025 (Κώδικας εργατικού δικαίου) όπως τροποποιήθηκε αντιστοίχως με το άρθρο 27 και 37 του Ν 5239/2025 και άρθρα 494, 496, 497, 512, 536, 538 του ΠΔ 62/2025 όπως ισχύουν

• 1

  For a detailed examination of the state of trade unionism in Greece, see Greek trade unions during the period 2000–2020: Plus ça change? by Ioannis Katsaroumpas and Aristea Koukiadaki, in Trade Unions in the European Union, edited by Jeremy Waddington, Torsten Müller and Kurt Vandaele, Peter Lang, 2023 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Chapter13_Greece_Plus%20%C3%A7a%20change_2023.pdf

• 2

  Actors and institutions in Greece), Eurofound, November 2024 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/countries/greece/actors-and-institutions#Actors-and-institutions-in-Greece

• 3

  OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database: Trade union density, OECD,2025 https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecdaias-ictwss-database.html

• 4

  Living and working in Greece: Eurofound, by Penny Georgiadou, (INE GSEE), July 2018

• 5

  Law 1264/1982, https://www.kodiko.gr/nomothesia/document/31936/nomos-1264-1982

• 6

  https://gsee.gr/domi/

• 7

  https://adedy.gr/federations/

• 8

  Η σύνθεση της εργατικής τάξης στην Ελλάδα και η συνδικαλιστική της εκπροσώπηση, Chapter 7, by Dimitris A. Katsoridas, INE, 2020, https://www.inegsee.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TO-ERGATIKO-ZHTHMA_e-book_1.pdf

• 9

  https://www.oiye.gr/o-i-y-e/

• 10

  Figures for individual unions from Greek trade unions during the period 2000–2020: Plus ça change? by Ioannis Katsaroumpas and Aristea Koukiadaki, in Trade Unions in the European Union, edited by Jeremy Waddington, Torsten Müller and Kurt Vandaele, Peter Lang, 2023 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Chapter13_Greece_Plus%20%C3%A7a%20change_2023.pdf

• 11

  POEDIN website https://www.poedhn.gr/identity

• 12

  POE-OTA website https://www.poeota.gr/content/istoria-tis-poe-ota

• 13

  Η σύνθεση της εργατικής τάξης στην Ελλάδα και η συνδικαλιστική της εκπροσώπηση, Chapter 7, by Dimitris A. Katsoridas, INE, 2020, https://www.inegsee.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TO-ERGATIKO-ZHTHMA_e-book_1.pdf

• 14

  See From Divided “Quangos” to Fragmented “Social Partners”: The Lack of Trade Union Mergers in Greece, by Christos A Ioannou in Restructuring Representation, The Merger Process and Trade Union Structural Development in Ten Countries, pp. 139-164, Jeremy Waddington (editor)P.I.E-Peter Lang, Brussels 2005

• 15

  GSEE Press Release 12.03.2023 Αποτελέσματα αρχαιρεσιών 38ου Συνεδρίου ΓΣΕΕ, https://gsee.gr/deltia-typou/apotelesmata-archairesion-38ou-synedriou-gsee/ and Βαριά ήττα της «γαλάζιας» ΔΑΚΕ στο συνέδριο της ΓΣΕΕ- Κέρδη για τις παρατάξεις που πρόσκεινται σε ΚΚΕ και ΠΑΣΟΚ, Dnews, 13.03.2023 https://www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/oikonomia/421947/varia-itta-tis-galazias-dake-sto-synedrio-tis-gsee-kerdi-gia-tis-paratakseis-pou-proskeintai-se-kke-kai-pasok

• 16

  Έκπληξη στο Συνέδριο της ΑΔΕΔΥ: Πρώτη δύναμη η ΔΑΣ-ΠΑΜΕ -Αποτελέσματα, 12.12.2025 https://www.aftodioikisi.gr/ergasiaka-asfalistika/ekplixi-sto-synedrio-tis-adedy-proti-dynami-i-das-pame-apotelesmata/#goog_rewarded

• 17

  GSEE Press Release, ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΥ ΓΣΕΕ ΓΙΑ ΕΠΕΙΓΟΝ ΑΙΤΗΜΑ ΣΥΝΑΝΤΗΣΗΣ ΜΕΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΠΙΘΕΣΗ ΣΤΟΝ ΠΥΡΗΝΑ ΤΟΥ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΚΟΥ ΠΟΛΙΤΕΥΜΑΤΟΣ 18.03.2019 https://gsee.gr/deltia-typou/%CE%B5%CF%80%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B7-%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%B5%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%B3%CF%83%CE%B5%CE%B5-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CE%B5%CF%80%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B3%CE%BF%CE%BD-%CE%B1%CE%B9/

• 18

  The Constitution of Greece, 2019, https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db-9148-f24dce6a27c8/THE%20CONSTITUTION%20OF%20GREECE.pdf

• 19

  https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/10259/GRC-10259.pdf (This English translation does not reflect the latest changes included in

• 20

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/%CE%A0.%CE%94.62/2025

• 21

  Νόμος 4808/2021 https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4808/2021

• 22

  ΓΣΕΕ προς υπουργείο Εργασίας: Όχι στην υποχρεωτική εγγραφή των σωματείων στο Μητρώο Συνδικαλιστικών Οργανώσεων (GSEE to the Ministry of Labor: No to the mandatory registration of unions in the Register of Trade Unions) IEFIMERIDA.GR, 29.12.2021 https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/gsee-ohi-stin-ypohreotiki-eggrafi-somateion-sto-mitroo

• 23

  ΓΣΕΕ: Δικαίωση η απόφαση του ΣτΕ για το Μητρώο συνδικαλιστικών οργανώσεων (GSEE: The Council of State's decision on the Register of Trade Unions is justified, Ημερήσια, 10.11.2022 https://www.imerisia.gr/koinonia/57525_gsee-dikaiosi-i-apofasi-toy-ste-gia-mitroo-syndikalistikon-organoseon

• 24

  Συνδικαλιστικές Οργανώσεις και Συλλογική Οργάνωση, Ministry of Labour https://ypergasias.gov.gr/ergasiakes-scheseis/syllogikes-ergasiakes-sxeseis/syndikalistikes-organoseis-kai-syllogiki-organosi/

• 25

  OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database: Trade union density, OECD,2025 https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecdaias-ictwss-database.html

• 26

  For a more detailed examination of collective bargaining in Greece, see Greece: ‘contesting’ collective bargaining by Ioannis Katsaroumpas and Aristea Koukiadak, in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/CB%20Vol%20II%20Chapter%2013.pdf

• 27

  The evolving structure of collective bargaining in Europe: Greece, Matina Yannakourou, 2005

• 28

  OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database: Collective bargaining coverage, OECD,2025 https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecdaias-ictwss-database.html

• 29

  ΕΤΗΣΙΑ ΕΚΘΕΣΗ 2025 ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΑΠΑΣΧΟΛΗΣΗ, INE/GSEE June 2025 (Section 3.5) https://www.inegsee.gr/ekdosi/etisia-ekthesi-2025-gia-tin-elliniki-ikonomia-ke-tin-apascholisi/

• 30

  Η ακτινογραφία της διάλυσης των συλλογικών συμβάσεων (The x-ray pf the dissolution of collective agreements),efsyn.gr https://www.efsyn.gr/oikonomia/454290_i-aktinografia-tis-dialysis-ton-syllogikon-symbaseon

• 31

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/%CE%A0.%CE%94.62/2025

• 32

  Νόμος 1876/1990 (Law 1876/1990) https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-ergasia-koinonike-asphalise/n-1876-1990.html

• 33

  Act 5163/2024 Νόμος 5163/2024 https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/5163/2024

• 34

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/circulars/51695/33093-16-12-2025

• 35

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4093/2012

• 36

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/suntaksiodotika/n-4024-2011.html

• 37

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/suntaksiodotika/nomos-4472-2017-fek-74a-19-5-2017.html

• 38

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-epikheireseis/nomos-4635-2019-phek-167a-30-10-2019-1.html

• 39

  ΕΤΗΣΙΑ ΕΚΘΕΣΗ 2025 ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΑΠΑΣΧΟΛΗΣΗ, Annual Report 2025 on the Greek Economy and Employment, 17.06.2025 GSEE-INE, https://www.inegsee.gr/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/EKTHESH_2025.pdf

• 40

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/suntaksiodotika/n-4024-2011.html

• 41

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/suntaksiodotika/nomos-4472-2017-fek-74a-19-5-2017.html

• 42

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/circulars/51695/33093-16-12-2025

• 43

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-epikheireseis/nomos-4635-2019-phek-167a-30-10-2019-1.html

• 44

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-ergasia-koinonike-asphalise/n-1876-1990.html

• 45

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/suntaksiodotika/n-4024-2011.html

• 46

  Ch. Ioannou, K. Papadimitriou. Collective bargaining in Greece in 2011 and 2012: Tendencies, disruption and prospects, 2013 (Organisation for Mediation and Arbitration – OMED). In Greek. http://www.omed.gr/el/files/meleti2Iwannou.pdf

• 47

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-somateia-sundikalistikes-eleutheries/n-1264-1982.html

• 48

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4512/2018

• 49

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4808/2021

• 50

  Greece: Developments in working life 2024, by Penny Georgiadou, Eurofound, 25 November 2025 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/greece-developments-in-working-life-2024

• 51

  Συλλογικές Ρυθμίσεις Εργασίας, Ministry of Labour https://ypergasias.gov.gr/category/sillogikes_rythmiseis_ergasias/

• 52

  Action Plan for the Promotion of Collective Bargaining in Greece 2026-2030. Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 16.12.2025 https://ypergasias.gov.gr/en/labour-relations/collective-employment-relations/action-plan-for-the-promotion-of-collective-bargaining-in-greece-2026-2030/

• 53

  Νέα παράταση ισχύος της ΕΓΣΣΕ έως 31.12.2025 https://www.taxheaven.gr/news/67901/nea-paratash-isxyos-ths-egsse-ews-31122025

• 54

  Νέα κλαδική σύμβαση σε επισιτισμό - τουρισμό: Τι αλλάζει για 500.000 εργαζόμενους - Αυξήσεις 19%. Efsyn.gr, 17.03.2026 https://www.efsyn.gr/oikonomia/elliniki-oikonomia/504553_nea-kladiki-symbasi-se-episitismo-toyrismo-ti-allazei-gia

• 55

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/5163/2024

• 56

  OKE https://oke.gr/en/escs-institution

• 57

  The Role and Impact of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions (ESC‐Sis) in the Response to the Global, Financial, Economic and Jobs Crisis, Draft Working Document, ILO, December 2013 https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/%40ed_dialogue/%40dialogue/documents/genericdocument/wcms_231024.pdf

• 58

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/%CE%A0.%CE%94.62/2025

• 59

  European Company Survey 2019 - Workplace practices unlocking employee potential, by Gijs van Houten and Giovanni Russo, Eurofound 2020, Figures for Table 72 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/system/files/2020-11/ef20001en.pdf

• 60

  Third European Company Survey – Overview report: Workplace practices – Patterns, performance and well-being, Eurofound, 2015, Figures for Table 44 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/third-european-company-survey-overview-report-workplace-practices-patterns

• 61

  European Working Conditions Survey 2024: Overview report, Figure 43, Eurofound 2026 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/european-working-conditions-survey-2024-overview-report

• 62

  Article 82 Law 4808/2021 https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4808/2021

• 63

  https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-somateia-sundikalistikes-eleutheries/n-1767-1988.html

• 64

  https://www.kodiko.gr/nomothesia/document/31936/nomos-1264-1982

• 65

  https://www.kodiko.gr/nomothesia/document/727771/nomos-4808-2021

• 66

  https://www.kodiko.gr/nomothesia/document/279789/nomos-1483-1984

• 67

  https://www.kodiko.gr/nomothesia/document/727771/nomos-4808-2021

• 68

  https://www.kodiko.gr/nomothesia/document/727771/nomos-4808-2021

• 69

  Νόμος 1767/88 (Συμβούλια Εργαζομένων https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/1767/1988

• 70

  For more details on board-level employee representation in Greece see Employee participation on the management bodies of companies in Greece by Ioannis D. Koukiadis and Ioannis V. Skandalis in Revisiting worker representation on boards: The forgotten EU countries in codetermination studies, edited by Sara Lafuente, ETUI, 2025 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2025-12/Revisiting%20worker%20representation%20on%20boards_2025.pdf

• 71

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4972/2022 and https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/4972/2022

• 72

  Details of board membership from the companies’ websites.

• 73

  Επιστολή της νέας προέδρου της ΠΟΣΤ Βάνιας Ανδρέου στους εργαζόμενους των, ΕΛΤΑ metaforespress.gr, 21.03.2021 https://www.metaforespress.gr/taxidromia/%CE%B5%CF%80%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%AE-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CE%BD%CE%AD%CE%B1%CF%82-%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%AD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%85-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CF%80%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%84-%CE%B2%CE%AC/

• 74

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/%CE%A0.%CE%94.62/2025

• 75

  https://www.elinyae.gr/ethniki-nomothesia/pd-912006-fek-92a-452006

• 76

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/%CE%A0.%CE%94.62/2025

• 77

  Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 2019): Overview Report How European workplaces manage safety and health, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/esener-2019-overview-report-how-european-workplaces-manage-safety-and-health

• 78

  European Working Conditions Survey 2024: Overview report, Figure 41, Eurofound 2026 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/european-working-conditions-survey-2024-overview-report

• 79

  Worker participation in the management of occupational safety and health — qualitative evidence from ESENER-2: Country report – Greece, EU-OSHA 2017

• 80

  Ibid

• 81

  https://www.taxheaven.gr/law/%CE%A0.%CE%94.62/2025

• 82

  For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – Greece by Spyros Dontas, OSH Wiki https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_Greece