Greek affiliate secures agreement

GREECE: The IMF-affiliated Hellenic Federation of Construction Equipment Operators recently signed a collective agreement they bargained for equipment workers in the technical works’ sector. In addition to a 2 per cent cost-of-living adjustment for the previous year, other provisions agreed to in the contract include the following pay increases:

• basic wages – 6 per cent from January 1, 2002;
• rent allowance (for those working away from home) – from 190.76 euros to 220 euros;
• children’s allowance – from 5 per cent (one child) up to 10 per cent, for those having 3 or more children;
• height allowance – from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, and from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent, according to distance from ground of operator’s booth;
• sea allowance – 5 per cent to 10 per cent for equipment operators on platforms at sea.

Agreements for the other sectors in this branch – manufacturing, commercial and ship repair, quarries/lignite mines, stone/marble quarries – are still being negotiated. The union says that the main problems which currently concern not only their branch but all workers in Greece are the reform of social security, unemployment and labour relations.