New collective agreement signed for Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation

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On 10 June 1999, a new enterprise-level collective agreement was signed for workers at the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE). The deal provides for a new pay scale and new staff regulations, as well as the pilot implementation of a 35-hour working week without loss of pay.

After several months of bargaining between the management of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) and the OTE Employees' Federation (OME) (GR9902112F), the two sides agreed on 10 June 1999 to sign a new collective agreement. The accord covers approximately 23,000 workers and will remain in force for two years (1999-2000). It provides for a new pay scale and new staff regulations, plus the pilot implementation of a 35-hour working week.

The main points of the new pay scale are that:

• staff are divided into nine income groups, within each of which employees progress upward through 17 successive salary scales, one every two years;
• the steps in the salary scales are 2% for salary scales 1-5, 2.5% for salary scales 6-12, and 2% for salary scales 13-17;
• the new salary scales incorporate the "corrective amount" (ie automatic pay indexation), degree-holders' allowances and the senior staff allowance; and
• pay increases will be paid in four equal instalments on 1 April 1999, 1 December 1999, 1 April 2000 and 1 December 2000.

As regards reduction of working time, the agreement provides for the setting up of a joint committee to study, within three months, both the issue of the 35-hour working week without loss of pay and the issue of working hours (starting times and weekly working hours, excluding the organisation of daily working hours). On the basis of this study, there will be a pilot implementation of various schemes in workplaces for a period to be determined by the two sides. Specifically, the pilot implementation of the 35-hour week will begin on 1 October 1999 and last for six months. Based on the conclusions drawn from it, decisions will be taken on the final implementation of the measure.