On 3 March 2026, H.E. Mr Ioannis Ghikas, Greek Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, deposited the instruments of ratification of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Safe and Healthy Working Environment (Consequential Amendments) Convention, 2023 (No. 191) and the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, with the Director-General of the ILO, Mr Gilbert F. Houngbo.
In depositing the instruments of ratification, Ambassador Ghikas stated: "Today I had the honour to deposit on behalf of Greece the instruments of ratification of Conventions Nos 155 and 191 on occupational safety and health in the work environment as well as the 2014 Protocol to the forced Labor Convention of 1930. Full implementation of their provisions will enhance the framework of actions we are putting in place to ensure a safer and healthier environment for all workers in Greece, to fight undeclared and forced labour and, more generally, to improve working conditions for all, while pursuing inclusiveness and gender equality, which is a horizontal and overlying goal in all our policies."
The Director-General of the ILO welcomed the ratifications of those instruments by Greece and stated that: "With these three ratifications, Greece is reaffirming its commitment to social justice and to the ILO's normative system. In doing so, the country recognises the importance of strengthening the fight against forced labour in all its forms. It also demonstrates its willingness to promote occupational safety and health both at the national and the enterprise level. Greece has now ratified all 11 of the ILO's fundamental instruments, reflecting its dedication to the realization of fundamental principles and rights at work."
Convention No. 155 provides for the adoption of a coherent national policy on occupational safety and health (OSH) and action to promote it. Convention No. 191 amends a number of ILO instruments in order to reflect the inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment in the fundamental rights category.
Further, the Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention strengthens the existing ILO framework for combating forced labour. It supplements the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), ratified by Greece in 1952, and commits States Parties to reinforcing their efforts to prevent and eliminate forced labour, including trafficking in persons, and to provide adequate protection to victims.
