Cartoon picture of several lawmakers
G*R*E*E*C*E

Home

Gender Work Issues

Gender Family Issues

Childcare

Immigration and Families

Work Family Policy

Laws

Agencies and Organizations

Annotated Bibliography

Pictures

Other Country Profiles

Work and Family Policies in

Greece

Are you curious about the different policies that exist in Greece concerning work-family issues? You will find information on those policies RIGHT HERE!

 

Greece has many specific policies that are based on the values of Greek society.  However, while family is the most valued aspect of life for 99.4% of Greeks, family is largely left out of policies, leaving each family to determine, for the most part, what is best for them.  While there are specific policies about work, many family policies are encompassed by the idea of familism.  Greek familism is the idea that the lack of action of family policies helps to support the implied idea in Greek society that the family is the main provider of welfare and support. The idea of familism is built into the center of Greek family policy, and Greece has always relied on the family for services to their own members. 

 

Work Policies

There are several specific work policies in Greece.  Greece does have rigid labor-market codes and regulations, which are seen through government restrictions placed on certain areas, including restrictions on releasing workers and unchallenged job security in the public sector.  Dismissals and temporary layoffs are subject to government control, and dismissals exceeding 2% of employees per month require the approval of the Minister of Labor.  In the last several years, various policies have been made to provide for better opportunities in the labor force and to attempt to reduce the inflexibility of labor market regulations.  However, some of the policies that exist are not always enforced. Examples of this include:

  • The Greek constitution provides for equality in hiring practices regardless of a person's race, nationality, language and political beliefs, but this provision is inconsistently followed.
  • New policies that were created in 2001 in order to raise employment, reduce unemployment, and combat rigid labor issues generally fell short of their goals.
  • The Labor Inspectorate has the right to conduct inspections at any private or public business, at any time, without prior warning, and to shut down a section or an enterprise if there is imminent danger to the workers' health or safety.  It can also conduct research and access any file concerning labor issues.  However, enforcement of safe working conditions remains lax.

Additionally, Greece has no laws or policies concerning things such as sexual harassment in the workplace.  And while policies do exist to protect children from being involved in the labor force, these policies to not extend to the areas of family farms and family enterprises, two areas that make up a large part of the labor force in Greece.

 

Family Policies

There are not many family policies that exist in Greece because the idea of familism tends to cover most of the issues that would otherwise be addressed by family policies.  Most of the family policies that exist in Greece are related to the areas of maternity and paternity leave, as well as childcare.  Greece allows for a paid maternity leave of 17 weeks, which is average for the European Union, but gives much fewer benefits during maternity leave than any other country in the European Union.  Greece has the lowest total parental leave of any European Union country at three and a half months, while the next lowest country, Italy, has a total parental leave of six months.  Greece also only allows for a one-day paid paternity leave for men who work in the private sector.  Greece does have a system of family benefits, but it is a complicated system and is based on employment, income, and the presence and ordinal position of children in the family.

For more information on family policies in Greece, you can visit: www.childpolicyintl.org 

 

Are Policies Responsible for Work-Family Issues?

As you may be able to tell from the above information on Greek policies, Greece is still a very traditional country.  Because of this, the Greek political system is strongly resistant to progressive reform, meaning that many outdated policies that fail to establish equality for women and men are still followed today.  Greece has consistently failed to legally establish equality between the genders, and due in part to this fact, women have been historically viewed in Greece as a domestic entity, fulfilling stereotypical roles of women in society.  These stereotypical roles are executed in the family situation as well as the work situation.  Additionally, because of the fact that by 1986 more than 50% of Greek workers were self-employed or were family workers, the areas of work and family are even more closely related in Greece.  Due to these facts, it makes sense that the Greek household is the most appropriate place to begin to look at the history of labor through the incorporation of gender.

Sources:

  • Columbia University. 2006. "The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies.", Retrieved October 29, 2006 (www.childpolicyintl.org).

  • Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women. 2002. "Press Release; Greece Describes Wide Range of Legislation Promoting Gender Equality as Anti-Discrimination Committee Continues Exceptional Session".

  • Papadopoulos, Theodoros N. 1996. "Greek Family Policy From A Comparative Perspective." Pp. 47-48-57 in Women, Work and the Family in Europe, edited by E. Drew, R. Emereck and E. Mahon.Routledge.

  • Venieris, Dimitris. 2003. "Social Policy in Greece: Rhetoric versus Reform." Social Policy and Administration 37(2):133-147.