Nicosia, Cyprus. A bill set to alter the payment of the cost-of-living allowance to Turkish Cypriot public sector workers will be sent back to the Turkish Cypriot legislature’s finance committee, UBP representative Hasan Tacoy said on Wednesday. He cited a “communication breakdown” within the ruling coalition.
UBP cites internal communication breakdown
Tacoy told Kanal T that there was a lack of information-sharing within the coalition, saying members were not informed about distributed documents. He said more open communication among coalition leaders, UBP, and the three-party coalition could have led to a different process with unions or political parties.
Tacoy confirmed that, instead of another attempt to pass the bill in a plenary session as was attempted last week, the issue would return to the committee stage.
Unions say they were informed of committee return
Turk-Sen leader Arslan Bicakli said during a gathering of trade unions outside ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel’s office that he had also been informed the coalition planned to return the issue to the committee.
DP criticises lack of consultation
Ustel announced on Saturday that the matter would not be debated in the legislature this week, drawing criticism from Serhat Akpinar, secretary-general of junior coalition partner the DP. Akpinar criticised a lack of transparency and said the DP learned of Ustel’s decision through the media.
Background on the proposed changes and protests
The coalition initially announced plans to halt cost-of-living allowance payments to all public sectors until next year, prompting demonstrations at the legislature. After failing to pass the plan through the legislature, the coalition indicated it was ready to negotiate with trade unions.
The unions then called off their strike, and the coalition passed a decree implementing changes by bypassing the legislature, prompting three more days of protests and strikes. The matter was discussed again in the legislature last Wednesday.
How do you think the coalition should consult with unions and coalition partners before advancing the bill again?
