General Confederation of Greek Workers

The General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), in Greek Γ.Σ.Ε.Ε, is the highest, tertiary trade union body in Greece. It was founded in 1918 and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation.

GSEE is made up of 83 worker unions and 74 departmental secondary confederations. Its prime purpose is defending the interests of all workers in Greece, in the private sector. To that purpose, it negotiates with the employer unions the signing of national union labour agreements and also has the ability to call all workers of the private sector on strike in case the need arises.

Moreover, GSEE has established a number of supporting institutes to help it achieve its goals. INE/GSEE-ADEDY is tasked with the provision of GSEE and ADEDY, the equivalent of GSEE in the public sector, of formulated scientific data reports which GSEE and ADEDY use for the scientific validations of their argumentation when dealing with the employers. KE.PE.A is tasked with the provision of information and legal advice to all workers and unemployed people in Greece. A.RIS.TOS is tasked with the tracking and filling of the historical evidence of all worker unions in Greece. KANEP/GSEE is tasked with the support of policy of GSEE in education and the R&D field.

Today, GSEE faces the issues of unemployment, sustainable social insurance and sustainable economic growth that involves everybody. During the Greek public debt crisis of 2010, GSEE has played a pivotal role for the protection of the established labour rights in the private sector which have been under pressure by the 2010 EU-IMF-ECB memorandum to Greece.