Speech by the ILO Director-General at the High-level Seminar on the jobs crisis in Greece

Honourable Minister of Labour, Social Security and Welfare,
Commissioner Andor,
Representatives of the Social Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me first of all to welcome you here to this high-level two-day seminar organized jointly by the ILO and EC. I would like to echo what Mr Andor just said. We hope this meeting can make an important contribution to policy coherence in many areas, and we very much appreciate the fact that you have come – and come in such numbers – to our meeting here today.

The title of the seminar is “Tackling the Jobs Crisis in Greece: Which ways forward?” I am sure we can all concur it is of no exaggeration to use the word “crisis”. We all know of the gravity of the employment situation in Greece today. One of the previous speakers used the words “the terrible years” to refer to the losses of jobs, wages, living standards, pensions and production in general, of which Greek families, employers, and workers are very well aware.

For many there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

In such circumstances – and I trust it is not false optimism – perhaps the country has reached a turning point. Some macroeconomic indicators are showing signs of still fragile stabilization. Some observers expect the beginnings of a recovery, if not this year, at least in the course of 2014.

However, as we have heard, for many there is no light at the end of the tunnel. There are no signs of an immediate recovery in the labour market. Unemployment is still reaching historic highs, poverty is on the rise and the employment situation of certain groups, notably young people, has to be a matter of deep concern for us all.

Moreover, there is a sense, widely shared, that the burden of adjustment has not been shared equally or shared fairly, and that critical decision-making is not in the hands of Greeks but has been confiscated and transferred to other places and people. This is something that is putting increasing pressure on key societal institutions and social cohesion, and ultimately, in the eyes of some, pressure too on democracy itself.

Growth on the one hand and jobs on the other must not be seen as competing paradigms."

And yet there is maybe a sense now that a way out could be possible, although the road ahead stands to be a long one. I think the difficulties should not deter us from taking that path. The ILO report prepared for this meeting, which my colleague Raymond Torres will be presenting shortly, provides some positive signs concerning the evolution of exports, at long last, and with regards to consolidation of the financial system in Greece. Things could be moving in the right direction. If so, the wrong thing to do would be to sit back and wait for things to get better. We need to join forces to make that happen, and as soon as possible.

In such circumstances the role of the ILO is a simple one. The commitment of the ILO is to do whatever is in our power, and whatever our constituents want, to be of assistance to Greece in this endeavour, however difficult the circumstances. To do so is consistent not only with the founding values of the ILO but also very much with the positions recently adopted by our governing institutions. Just two months ago the ILO’s European Regional Meeting in Oslo called on the ILO “to assist constituents to address social and economic crises and to help design sound and equitable reform policies”. It made a very clear statement that it is possible, and must be attempted, to combine the pursuit of sound macroeconomic goals and fiscal consolidation where necessary with the creation and protection of decent jobs and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, in a balanced approach to tackling the crisis. Growth on the one hand and jobs on the other must not be seen as competing paradigms.

And the strategies to bring about recovery have the best chance of working if they can be defined through social dialogue. The importance of social dialogue was underlined just last week in the most emphatic manner when at the annual International Labour Conference the 185 member states of the ILO endorsed a set of recommendations on that issue.

The strategies to bring about recovery have the best chance of working if they can be defined through social dialogue."

At that same Conference the Government of Greece and the social partners all stated their commitment to cooperating with the ILO and with each other on finding the way forward. They also made specific reference to today’s event, expressing the hope that it will open the way forward. I share that hope and I am confident that all of us here will not miss the opportunity we have.

The ILO study on the current employment and labour market situation in Greece contains a number of findings and recommendations on the way forward, ones that could provide a basis for discussion from which future cooperation could grow. That cooperation, defined though appropriate processes of social dialogue and functioning under its umbrella, can, we hope, assist in finding the most effective and the most inclusive ways for Greece to recover.

The ILO study draws attention to the fact that economic adjustment in Greece has happened especially through cuts in income to ordinary Greek families, with resultant unacceptable levels of high poverty and extreme social costs. One particularly worrying result has been the growing phenomenon of long-term unemployment, the extreme and deplorable level of youth unemployment – over 64 % – and the situation of jobless families, whose children are in many cases slipping further into poverty and ever-increasing risk of marginalization. We cannot look on with indifference and passivity.

Speaking also as the person who, in my former responsibilities, headed the ILO High Level Mission that visited Athens at the request of the ILO supervisory bodies in the last two years, I am very pleased that Greece has called upon the ILO to offer its cooperation in finding solutions. I want to emphasize that in order to succeed the process does need to bring together all actors that make up the labour market in Greece, and want to invite us all to explore the ways in which that cooperation can be a success. The ILO stands ready to intensify and institutionalize its cooperation with the Greek government and Greek social partners.

Some key areas of joint action have been defined. These follow the recommendations of the ILO study, and concentrate particularly on four issues:

• Firstly, we need to look at the functioning of the labour market. We can look at promotion of the transition from undeclared to declared work. We need to identify and support innovative forms of job creation, with a particular emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized companies and the social economy. And perhaps above all else, we need to look at how to improve employment prospects for the most vulnerable groups, with a particular emphasis on youth.
• The ILO proposes working on the issue of reinforcing labour law enforcement, based on the on-going fruitful cooperation between the ILO and the Greek Labour Inspectorate.
• We can look at how to reinforce social security schemes.
• And we need to promote industrial relations and social dialogue to serve the purpose of growth and recovery.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Strong differences of opinion have been expressed by the previous speakers today. There have been sharp differences, sharply expressed. We cannot underestimate those differences or deny their importance.

But we do need a new start on social dialogue. Nobody on the podium spoke of anything other than the importance of social dialogue. It is in our hands; we must make it work.

There have been serious difficulties for collective bargaining in Greece, and non-respect of international labour standards, as mentioned by Commissioner Andor. It will be difficult to re-establish. In any case it is clear that the collective bargaining and social dialogue of tomorrow probably won’t look like that of yesterday.

They will be different and new; but their purposes will not change – to find balanced, fair and accepted outcomes at work. The ILO stands beside its partners in working to achieve that renewed social dialogue.

That needs to be done earlier rather than later. We need a new effort to achieve that goal. The ILO will do all it can to contribute to that effort.

Thank you.