Hourly-paid government staff warn of strike if meeting plans change

Nicosia, Cyprus. Unions representing hourly-paid government staff warned on Tuesday that they may proceed with strike action if plans for their representatives to meet President Nikos Christodoulides next Monday are changed.

The warning follows last week’s agreement to suspend a strike planned for last Thursday over proposals to freeze their pay for three years.

Union demands

The government and trade unions agreed last week to call off the planned strike after Christodoulides agreed to meet union representatives next Monday.

Pasykek-Peo said the suspension of strike measures “was not a blank cheque” and called for “intensive and substantive meetings” with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos in the coming days to reach an agreement.

It said any agreement should “pave the way for an immediate improvement in wages and starting salaries”.

“We will not accept a violation of the timetable which was set by the president, nor any deviation from what was agreed upon at the meeting at the presidential palace,” the union said.

Pasykek-Peo added that it remains committed to its original principles and demands and would not retreat from its goal of improving wages and starting salaries.

Government and union figures

The finance ministry said last week that the unions’ demands could cost taxpayers €23 million per year.

It added that the median monthly salary for hourly-paid government staff is €2,113, compared with the national median salary of €1,968.

Oekdy-Sek leader George Constantinou said, however, that the pay of hourly-paid government workers has increased by only 1.5 per cent since 2009.

Deok leader Andreas Antoniou said some staff earn as little as €867 per month, adding that there is no lower salary in Cyprus.