Interim Report - Report No 19, 1956

Case No 121 (Greece) - Complaint date: 15-MAY-55 - Closed

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 135. The Greek General Confederation of Labour (Budapest), the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Tobacco Workers (Budapest) and the Federation of Greek Maritime Workers' Unions (Cardiff) addressed to the Director-General, on 15 May 1955, a joint communication alleging infringements of the exercise of trade union rights in Greece. In addition, either directly or through the intermediary of the United Nations, the Director-General received a number of complaints containing similar allegations and emanating respectively from the Piraeus Harbour Workers' Union (telegram dated 6 June 1955), the National Federation of Port and Dock Workers (Paris) (communication dated 1 October 1955), the Trieste Port Workers' Federation and the Trieste Transport Workers' Federation (communication dated 3 October 1955), the Weissenfels Transport Workers' Federation (communication dated 11 October 1955) and the Trade Union International of Transport, Port and Fishery Workers (communication dated 14 November 1955). As all these complaints contain similar allegations, they may be analysed together. The allegations are essentially as follows.
   • Allegations relating to the Deportation and Arrest of Trade Union Leaders and Militants
2. 136. Trade union leaders and militants are still being deported, especially to the Island of Yioura, under administrative ordinances, for the sole reason that they do not agree with the policy of the Government and are accordingly considered to be " dangerous to public security ". The complaints cite the names of 30 persons deported in this way, some eight years ago, although under the law the maximum period for deportation is fixed at three years. More specifically, the complainants allege that the deportation of Alexander Zoumis, a member of the executive committee of the Greek Building Workers' Federation, was ordered in August 1953 (the text of the decision ordering his deportation is cited in the complaint) ; that in October 1953 Mr. André Codzoyannis was arrested for his propaganda on behalf of the Third World Trade Union Congress and for having denounced the misappropriation of money from the Metal Trades Workers' Insurance Fund committed by "friends of the Government" appointed to the administration of the fund ; that in February 1955 Mr de Papaconstantinou, a member of the executive committee of the Greek Bakery Trade Workers' Union, was arrested and deported, following a strike of bakery workers in Athens in which he had played a very active part, on the eve of the trade union elections ; finally, that in March 1955 Mr. Stathopoulos Fatis, President of the Athens Restaurant Employees' Union, and Mr. Staveris Vassilis, Secretary of the Progressive Trade Union Group, were also sentenced to be deported for one year. The National Federation of Port and Dock Workers (Paris) adds the name of Mr. Ambatielos, Secretary of the Greek Maritime Federation, to those already mentioned. In the further information sent to the Office on 18 August 1955 the complainants gave a further list of persons alleged to have been arrested or deported. By ordering these deportations, the Government prevents the normal functioning of the trade unions.
   • Allegations relating to Acts of Anti-Union Discrimination in respect of Employment
3. 137. The trade union activity of the workers, impeded by the employers and the Government, constitutes a reason for dismissal or refusal of engagement ; in fact, every Greek worker is obliged, in order to obtain any employment, to furnish a certificate as to his social convictions. The complainants cite several cases of dismissal on the ground of trade union activities. They allege also that, in certain cases, the law prohibits the workers from carrying on any trade union activity at their places of work - especially by virtue of the decree of 29 April 1953 respecting the regulation of the conditions of work of employees in tobacco warehouses.
   • Allegations relating to Control of the Greek General Confederation of Labour Exercised by the Government
4. 138. The Greek General Confederation of Labour is alleged to be under the control of the Government especially by reason of the subsidies received by its leaders. The complainants allege that the former Minister of Labour, Mr. Gonis, had admitted that in 1954 his Ministry accorded to the leaders of the Confederation 750 million drachmas (former currency) (30,000 drachmas one United States dollar). Since December 1954 the present Minister of Labour, Mr. Stratos, has made a monthly grant of 350,000 drachmas (new currency) (30 drachmas one United States dollar) to the leaders of the Confederation. The latter also receive extraordinary allowances in respect of participation in congresses abroad. These sums are stated to be levied on the workers' clubs fund, to which workers are obliged to pay four drachmas per month. The complainants refer also to other examples of subsidies accorded to the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Seamen by order of the Minister of Shipping. Finally, they allege that, under article 22 of a draft Collective Labour Agreements Bill, the leaders of the Greek General Confederation of Labour would have the right to impose and collect a monthly contribution from all workers and employees, whether organised or not ; under this Bill the Minister of Labour could stop the payment of these compulsory contributions and, by having this right, could exercise pressure on the leaders of the Confederation and keep the trade unions under his control.
   • Allegations relating to the Trade Union Press, Trade Union Meetings and Governmental Interference in the Life of Occupational Organisations
5. 139. The appearance of trade union publications and the organisation of public or private trade union meetings are subject to application for authorisation from the Press Ministry and the police respectively. The complainants refer to cases in which requests for such authorisation are stated to have been refused and allege that, in the cases in which authorisation is granted, the Government by its interference restricts the free exercise of trade union rights. In every town and at every security post, it is declared, there is a police official with the special duty of keeping observation on the trade unions ; this official has the right to be present at meetings of trade union organisations, to take notes of the speeches made by the workers and to intervene in the voting. It is his duty to make dossiers concerning the workers and to decide as to prosecutions, arrests and deportations.
6. 140. By four letters dated 27 July, 29 August and 19 November 1955 and 9 February 1956, the Director-General communicated to the Greek Government the complaints and the further information addressed to the Office by the complainants.
   • ANALYSIS OF THE REPLIES
7. 141. By four letters dated 16 January, 8 February and 6 April 1956, the Greek Government forwarded to the Office its observations on all the complaints communicated to it.
8. 142. The Government begins by giving certain information concerning the position under the law of the signatories of the original complaints addressed to the Director-General jointly by the Greek General Confederation of Labour (Budapest), the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Tobacco Workers (Budapest) and the Federation of Greek Maritime Workers' Unions (Cardiff), that is to say, Messrs. C. Theos, A. Grozos and N. Caloudis. All three are stated to have been prosecuted for having committed criminal acts, to have taken refuge abroad for several years and to have been deprived of Greek nationality. The Government adds that Mr. Theos is using illegally the title of General Secretary of the Greek General Confederation of Labour as his election to the administration of that organisation was annulled by Decision No. 885/46 of the Council of State and, since that date, he has never been elected to that post. With regard to Mr. Caloudis, the Government states that O.E.N.O, the organisation which he claims to represent, was dissolved by a judicial decision taken in 1948 because of its Communist activities. In this connection, the Government points out that the Communist Party was outlawed following the events of December 1944. In the view of the Government, it is clear that the three persons mentioned above, having absented themselves from Greece for several years, have no exact knowledge of the real situation existing in the country.
   • Allegations relating to the Deportation and Arrest of Trade Union Leaders and Militants
9. 143. With regard to the allegations relating to the deportation of trade unionists, the Government refers to the observations which it furnished in connection with Case No. 112 previously examined by the Committee. On that occasion, the Government gave the following details : there exists in Greece, along with penal proceedings, another system of prosecution involving "the deportation of any person suspected of having assisted brigands, persons in contumacy, contrabandists or any persons who have committed acts contrary to the public order or to the peace and security of the State ". Deportation is thus a special penalty imposed by virtue of a special procedure ; according to the law, it cannot exceed a period of one year. Cases of deportation are decided upon by special public security committees established in each area, and composed of the Prefect and the President and Prosecutor of the Court of First Instance, with the chief of police or the director of the police, in big cities, as reporter. The law has established within each Court of Appeal a public security committee of second instance, composed of the Prefect, the President and Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal, to which every person concerned may have recourse within three days following notification of the decision of the committee of first instance. In these proceedings all persons concerned may designate a director. The role of the prosecutor is of primary importance, since he assembles the material for investigation. After describing this procedure, the Government emphasised that, in its view, the procedure lay within the domain of penal procedure and was a question absolutely distinct from the question of the exercise of trade union rights.
10. 144. In the observations which it has presented in the case now before the Committee, the Government reaffirms that in Greece no one is liable to deportation because of his convictions or trade union activity ; every citizen has complete freedom to express his political convictions and enjoys full freedom of association.
11. 145. Among the persons mentioned by the complainants as having been deported, the Government states that 11 were liberated a long time ago, having given verbal assurances that they would not participate in clandestine Communist organisations and similar activities. The other persons mentioned by the complainants were liberated for various reasons. The Government declares further that it is not true that Messrs. Docopoulos, Tsivas and Cavaros have ever been deported. Mr. Zoumis is stated now to be free ; he had been deported because of his subversive activities and not because of his trade union activities.
12. 146. Several complainants having objected to deportation to the Island of Yioura, the Government states that this is not a special measure but that the transfer of detained persons to the prisons on Yioura are decided by the State Prisons Administration for internal organisational reasons and denies that there is any connection between these transfers and the exercise of trade union rights.
    • Allegations relating to Acts of Anti-Union Discrimination in respect of Employment
13. 147. Referring to the allegation that the Government commits or permits to be committed acts of anti-union discrimination with respect to employment, the Government refers to article 11 of the National Constitution, which reads as follows : " Greeks have the right to associate and to combine in conformity with the laws of the Nation, which, however, may never make this right subject to previous governmental authorisation."
14. 148. The Government states that it is untrue to allege that the trade union activities of the workers constitute a motive for dismissal or refusal of employment ; the dismissal or engagement of any person, whether a trade union member or not, depends exclusively on the requirements of the undertakings. The trade union activities of the workers are not restricted by the Government and the latter sees to it that they are not restricted by the employers. Not only does there exist no law under which trade union activities are restricted in working places but, to protect the trade unionists against certain acts on the part of employers, the Government enacted a law in 1951 (Law No. 1803/51) concerning the protection of trade union leaders', under the provisions of which employers may not break contracts of service in order to get rid of trade union leaders. Article 1 of the Law provides : " Subject to the provisions of the labour legislation and of the Civil Code relating to notice of termination of contracts of employment, an employee holding the post of president or general secretary of a workers' trade union with a membership exceeding 100 natural persons shall not be dischargeable, during his term of office and for one year thereafter, by notice of termination of the employment contract given by the employer unless there is a serious cause and the procedure laid down in article 3 of this Act is followed."
15. 149. With regard to the allegation that every worker, in order to obtain employment, must have a certificate concerning his social convictions, the Government states that, immediately after the war, Communist activity threatened the established régime and that, in order to fight against subversion, the Government adopted, in January 1948, an Act (No. 516/48) concerning measures for the safety of public utility companies, etc. By virtue of this Act, any organ or institution subsidised by the State or by legal persons according to public law, and especially public utility companies such as those for gas, electricity, posts and telegraphs, railways, etc., must obtain certificates showing that their employees have not participated in acts incompatible with the safety of the country. If these are the certificates referred to by the complainants, it should be observed that they have been required only in the precise cases mentioned above and for the sole purpose of preventing persons who have participated in acts of sabotage, entailing serious consequences to the safety of citizens, from working in services of public utility.
16. 150. With respect to the dismissals of employees of the Social Insurance Institute mentioned by the complainants, the Government states that these were ordered on the basis of the provisions of Legislative Decree 2698/53 concerning employees of the Institute. Article 19 (2) of this Decree is as follows:
    • On the basis of decisions of the committee set up in relation with the Administration of the Institute by Order of the Minister of Labour, this committee consists of the Governor (chairman), a judge of the Court of Appeal appointed by the Minister of Justice and a senior official of the Ministry of Labour appointed by the Minister of Labour ; the Minister of Labour is empowered, for a period of six months, which may be prolonged for a further six months, to dismiss any permanent or temporary employee or person employed in the Institute. The committee renders judgment in full freedom having regard to the following points : character, occupational ability, diligence, personal and mental state of health, division of national ideals, discipline in the service and social contact in general. It also takes into consideration all other elements in the dossier of the employee concerning disablement (war victim or combatant) and takes its decisions by majority vote.
    • Thus, states the Government, dismissals are based on all of the several reasons stated and not on the element of loyalty as alleged.
17. 151. With regard to the tobacco workers alluded to by the complainants, the Government states that it has applied a liberal policy in this sector of the industry, and, in this connection, quotes article 1 of Act No. 2348/53, which states that " all provisions providing, in the case of the commercial processing of leaf tobacco or of processing by tobacconists, for the employment exclusively of persons having special identity papers issued by the Tobacco Workers' Insurance Fund " are repealed. By this provision the Government applied the system of freedom of work to the tobacco industry.
18. 152. The Government appears to recognise that, in the past, police commissioners have acted as chairmen of tobacco workers' placement committees ; it states, however, that, by Decision No. 60321 of 26 October 1955 of the Minister of Labour, the provision in this connection was amended and the committees now consist of the labour inspector or head of the inspection office as chairman, the head of the respective placement office, an official of the respective prefecture appointed by the Prefect, a representative of the workers appointed by the executive of the workers' centre concerned and a representative of employers appointed by the organisation of employers concerned.
19. 153. Finally, the Government states that a Bill has been introduced which will remove the penal element from certain contraventions committed by employees of tobacco warehouses.
    • Allegations relating to Control of the Greek General Confederation of Labour Exercised by the Government
20. 154. With regard to the allegations that the Greek General Confederation of Labour is under the control of the Government, the latter begins by referring to the revolutionary crisis in Greece after the World War and states that, faced by this situation, it has not been possible to establish the basis of a system of trade union organisations similar to that prevailing in the great democratic countries with a long tradition of freedom.
21. 155. The Government recognised that the question of the financial organisation of associations is very important to trade union life as a whole. It recalls in this connection than an I.L.O mission of experts went to Greece in 1947 and gave particular attention to this question. The mission observed that the General Confederation of Labour, among other organisations, was financed on the basis of a system of compulsory contributions paid by all workers, whether organised or not. It recognised that, though open to criticism in itself, such a system might be necessary in particular circumstances and for a limited period. The Government states that the system has been in force for so long, however, that it has become traditional and that its complete suppression would entail innumerable difficulties.
22. 156. In 1954 the system of compulsory contributions was abolished. Immediately after this measure, the occupational associations lacked resources. It is true that the " workers' assistance " organisation, an organisation under public law, granted financial aid to trade union organisations. However, the Government points out, this was only a temporary solution intended to serve as a transition between the old system and the future system, which will be in conformity with the rules of free trade unionism.
23. 157. A recent Act (No. 3239/55) concerning the settlement of collective labour disputes provides that one of the objects of national collective agreements may be the stipulation that employers shall deduct a contribution, fixed by the collective agreement, from the pay of employees in respect of their affiliation to occupational organisations. However, there follows a provision to the effect that employees called upon to pay contributions may make an express declaration that they refuse to pay.
24. 158. The Government protests against the allegations that " friends of the Government " have been placed at the head of the General Confederation of Labour. It states that this allegation is not only senseless but also malicious. The fact that the General Confederation of Labour has on several occasions been in opposition to the Government proves, if that were necessary, the lack of truth in the complainants' statements.
    • Allegations relating to the Trade Union Press, Trade Union Meetings and Interference by the Government in the Life of Occupational Organisations
25. 159. With regard to the allegations relating to the press and to trade union meetings and, more generally, to intervention by government authorities in trade union life, the Government refers to article 11 of the National Constitution cited at the commencement of this analysis. The Government states that this Constitutional provision which solemnly guarantees, among other things, the freedom of meeting and of association, has been supplemented by various laws, the principal enactments being the Associations Act No. 281/1914 and articles 78 and 109 of the Civil Code. The Government affirms that this collection of legislation ensures absolute protection of freedom of association. All workers, whatever their occupational category, may freely found associations on condition that their Constitutions and rules are approved by the competent judicial authorities. Apart from this formality no governmental interference is exercised with respect to freedom of association. Workers' organisations are free to act in the trade union field within the limits of what is lawful and of what is laid down in their rules without any interference by public authorities. They may freely elect their representatives ; not only does no provision restrict the freedom of meeting of members of occupational associations but, on the contrary, trade union activities are growing daily. Any allegation that pressure is exercised by the Government on leaders of the trade union movement in order to interfere with their activities is simply slanderous.
26. 160. The Government concludes by stating that there is no anti-union discrimination in Greece. Persons who have been prosecuted have been proceeded against solely because of the criminal acts of which they rendered themselves guilty and not by reason of their political convictions and, a fortiori, not by reason of their affiliation or trade union activity.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 161. The Committee notes in the first place that the Government, in its reply, appears to question the fact that certain of the complainants are competent to present a complaint. The Government states that Messrs. Theos, Grozos and Caloudis have for a long time been outside Greece, that they have been deprived of their Greek nationality and that they do not represent the organisations which they claim to represent, either because they no longer perform functions in those organisations or because the organisations themselves have been dissolved.
2. 162. When examining an earlier case relating to the Government of Switzerland in which that Government expressed the view that the receivability of a complaint by an organisation having no branch in the country concerned might be contested, the Committee took the view that this fact was a point to which it should pay particular attention when it came to examine the merits of the complaint. In justifying this point of view, the Committee recalled the observations which it had made in its First Report in which it had expressed the view that it might be difficult to decide in some cases how much reliance is to be placed on the evidence of persons who are not resident in the country in question. The Committee added, however, that this factor should not be taken into account when deciding as to the receivability of the complaint ; in this connection, it observed that circumstances might arise in which only persons residing outside the country complained against enjoy the conditions of freedom necessary to enable them to submit a complaint to the Committee. The Committee also recalled that the only criterion as to the receivability of a complaint was that it should come either from organisations of workers or employers or from governments. In its First Report, the Committee stated that it would not regard any complaint as being irreceivable simply because the Government in question has dissolved the organisation on behalf of which the complaint is made or because the person or persons making the complaint have taken refuge outside the country concerned.
3. 163. The Committee considers that the situation in the present case corresponds exactly to the situation to which it referred in its First Report. In these circumstances, without prejudging in any way the merits of the information furnished by the complainant, the Committee considers that the complaint now before it is receivable and that it should, therefore, examine it on its merits together with the other complaints submitted to it in this case.
   • Allegations relating to the Deportation and Arrest of Trade Union Leaders and Militants
4. 164. The complainants allege that several trade union leaders and militants, whose names are given, have been deported or arrested and that this measure is intended to paralyse the Greek trade union movement.
5. 165. The Government states that the measure complained against has no connection with the trade union activities of the persons concerned. In this connection it refers to the observations which it made in Case No. 112 already examined by the Committee, which are referred to in paragraph 143 above. The Government adds that most of the persons mentioned by the complainants were liberated a long time ago and that the others, apart from Mr. Ambatielos, whose name is cited by one of the complainants but to whom the Government does not refer, have never been deported. In conclusion, the Government states that the deportations in question were ordered solely for political reasons.
6. 166. The Committee recalls, as it did when examining Case No. 112, that in its First Report it formulated certain principles with regard to the examination of complaints to which the Government concerned ascribed a purely political character. The Committee decided, in accordance with the general principles adopted by the Governing Body on the proposal of its Officers that, even though cases may be political in origin or present certain political aspects, they should be examined in substance if they raised questions directly concerning the exercise of trade union rights.
7. 167. In several earlier cases, the Committee has been called upon to give a decision on the application of measures which, although of a political nature and not intended to restrict trade union rights as such, might nevertheless affect the exercise of such rights.
8. 168. In the present case, the Committee considers that, in so far as the measure instituting public security committees was introduced for exclusively political purposes, it is not called upon to express any view on the institution of those committees or on the procedure followed before them, under which persons may be deported for having committed acts contrary to the tranquillity of public order or to the safety of the State.
9. 169. In this connection the Committee, while recognising that such a procedure may have been motivated by the critical situation in Greece at the time of the Civil War, a situation of which it has had to take account when examining allegations submitted to it on earlier occasions a draws attention to the desirability of ensuring that this procedure is attended by all the necessary safeguards to guarantee that it may not be utilised with the object of restricting the free exercise of trade union rights and to the importance which it attaches to the principle that trade unions should be able to perform in freedom their mission of defending occupational interests.
10. 170. With regard to the case of Mr. Ambatielos, mentioned by one of the complainants as having been arrested at the same time as nine other leaders of the Greek Maritime Workers' Federation and to whom the Government does not refer in its reply, the Committee has already been called upon to consider this question in Case No. 66. Having regard to the observations then made by the Greek Government, the Committee considered that the Government had, in so far as it was in its power, followed a policy of clemency by virtue of the fact that the death sentences pronounced against Mr. Ambatielos and nine other trade union leaders for activities independent of the exercise of trade union rights had been commuted to life imprisonment in most cases, and, in certain other cases, to temporary confinement.
11. 171. In view of the fact that the complaint now before it does not contain any new allegations not contained in the allegations with respect to which the Committee gave a decision in its Sixth Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 121st Session (March 1953), the Committee considers that this particular complaint does not call for further examination.
12. 172. In these circumstances, as it would appear from the statements of the Government that all the deported trade unionists mentioned by one of the complainants have been set free and as the measure which was taken against these persons appears to have had no connection with the exercise of trade union rights and, finally, as the case of the trade unionists mentioned by another complainant has already been examined by it, the Committee recommends the Governing Body, subject to the observations made in paragraph 169 above, to decide that this aspect of the case does not call for further examination.
    • Allegations relating to Acts of Anti-Union Discrimination in respect of Employment
13. 173. The complainants allege that workers are dismissed and refused employment because of their trade union activities.
14. 174. The Government declares that engagement and dismissal both depend exclusively on the requirements of the undertakings. It adds that an Act of 1951 even prohibits employers from dismissing those of their employees who carry on trade union functions, except for serious causes (see paragraph 148 above).
15. 175. With regard to the dismissals of employees of the Social Insurance Institute referred to by the complainants, the Government states that, far from being arbitrary, these dismissals have been decided upon by special committees set up in relation with the Administration on grounds which have no connection at all with the freedom of association or loyalty of those concerned. The Government adds that the special identity papers previously required in the case of tobacco workers have been abolished and that this occupation is now open to all.
16. 176. In these circumstances, while emphasising the importance which it attaches to the principle that workers should enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment and that such protection should apply more particularly in respect of acts calculated to make the employment of a worker subject to the condition that he shall not join a union or shall relinquish trade union membership, or to cause the dismissal of or otherwise prejudice a worker by reason of union membership or because of participation in union activities, the Committee, while reserving for further consideration the question as to certificates of social convictions, considers that the complainant has not offered sufficient proof to substantiate the allegations of anti-union discrimination.
17. 177. Engagements are stated to be subject to the possession by those seeking employment of a certificate of social convictions. The Government states that the only purpose of these certificates is to ensure that workers do not participate in subversive clandestine activities and that they are required only in the case of public utility undertakings, for example, gas, electricity, transport, posts and telegraphs, etc. While taking account of the political circumstances which prevailed in Greece in recent years, the Committee considers that, before it can judge whether the precautions taken to ensure the continued operation of public services in Greece are accompanied by adequate safeguards to avoid any interference with freedom of association, it should request the Government to furnish further information concerning the certificates of social convictions referred to above.
    • Allegations relating to Control of the Greek General Confederation of Labour Exercised by the Government
18. 178. The complainants allege that the subsidies allocated by the authorities to trade union organisations, and especially to the Greek General Confederation of Labour, result in this organisation being dependent on the Government.
19. 179. In its reply, the Government admits that the Confederation has been financed for a long time under a system of compulsory contributions paid by all workers. The Government also admits that the Workers' Assistance Organisation, an organisation under public law, has granted financial aid to trade union organisations. The Government adds, however, that this system is being replaced by a system more in conformity with the rules of free trade unionism. In future, the financing of trade union organisations will be regulated by national collective agreements. The Government states that article 22 of Act No. 3239/55, to which the complainants appear to object, while making it compulsory for employers automatically to deduct trade union contributions, also contains the express provision that workers may, if they so demand, be exempted from these deductions.
20. 180. The Committee considers that the various systems of subsidising workers' organisations have very different consequences according to the form which they assume, the spirit in which they are conceived and applied and the extent to which the subsidies are granted as a matter of right in virtue of statutory provisions or are granted in the discretion of a public authority. The repercussions which financial aid may have on the autonomy of trade union organisations will depend essentially on circumstances ; they cannot be assessed by applying general principles : they are a question of fact which must be examined in each case in the light of circumstances of the case.
21. 181. In the present case, the Committee notes the Government's statement that the old system will shortly be replaced and that the question of trade union contributions will be determined by collective bargaining.
22. 182. In these circumstances, while calling the attention of the Government to the observations made in paragraph 180 above, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to keep it informed as to future developments with regard to this matter.
    • Allegations relating to the Trade Union Press, Trade Union Meetings and Interference by the Government in the Life of Occupational Organisations
23. 183. The complainants allege that, by its interference, the Government impedes the free exercise of trade union rights ; they allege in particular that police officers attend trade union meetings, that such meetings are subject to prior authorisation and that trade union publications themselves are also subject to authorisation.
24. 184. The Government states that the regulations in force constitute an absolute guarantee of freedom of association and render impossible any interference by the Government in trade union affairs.
25. 185. In view of the fact that the complainants have presented precise allegations, the Committee considers that the Government's reply is not sufficiently detailed to enable it to formulate, in full knowledge of the circumstances, final recommendations on this aspect of the case. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide to ask the Government to be good enough to furnish more detailed information, in particular, with respect to the conditions on which trade union publications may be printed and distributed in Greece, the formalities attending the holding of trade union meetings and the question of the participation of government officials in such meetings.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 186. In these circumstances, the Committee may wish to recommend the Governing Body:
   • (a) to decide that, for the reasons indicated in paragraphs 164-172 above and subject to the observations made therein, the allegations relating to the arrest and deportation of trade unionists do not call for further examination ;
   • (b) to decide that, for the reasons indicated in paragraphs 173-176 above, and subject to the observations made therein, the allegations relating to antiunion discrimination discussed therein do not call for further examination;
   • (c) to take note of the present interim report relating to certificates of social convictions ;
   • (d) to take note of the present interim report on the allegations relating to the effects of government subsidies on the autonomy of the Greek General Confederation of Labour ;
   • (e) to take note of the present interim report on the allegations relating to the trade union press, trade union meetings and interference by the Government in the life of occupational associations, it being understood that the Committee will report further to the Governing Body on this question when it has received further information requested thereon from the Greek Government.