Austerity Measures in Greece and Social Rights Protection under the European Social Charter: Comment on GSEE v. Greece case, Complaint No. 111/2014, European Committee of Social Rights, 5 July 2017

Abstract

On the 5th of July 2017, the European Committee of Social Rights published another decision adopted under the collective complaints procedure, condemning Greece for violating plenty of the European Social Charter provisions concerning labour rights by implementing austerity measures between 2010 and 2014. The Committee adopted a dynamic and analytical interpretation of the Charter setting new criteria, such as the need to take into account the social needs of the most vulnerable when legislating and went even further than in its previous decisions in terms of social rights protection by producing a precedent that can be used as a tool against the application of austerity policies. This paper analyses GSEE v. Greece, Complaint No. 111/2014 before the Committee and attempts to review it under a multi-level context.