Hourly paid government workers call off planned 24-hour strike
More than 11,000 hourly paid government workers suspended a planned strike after union leaders met President Nikos Christodoulides.
Nicosia, Cyprus. A planned 24-hour strike by more than 11,000 hourly paid government workers was called off on Wednesday after union leaders met President Nikos Christodoulides. The walkout had been due to begin on Thursday morning.
Meeting with president
The meeting took place early on Wednesday and was attended by Finance Minister Makis Keravnos. It brought together the three unions representing the workers: Oekdy-Sek, Pasyek-Peo and Deok-Kdoko.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the two sides agreed to hold another meeting with the president on September 28 at 11am.
“Among the topics of discussion will be how to improve the salaries of hourly government personnel,” Letymbiotis said.
He added that the unions had “decided to suspend the measures in order to give time to the dialogue to make final decisions”.
Services affected
The strike would have affected government departments and services, school boards and the state health services organisation, Okypy.
About 6,500 of the workers are on the state payroll, while the remaining 5,500 are employed by Okypy and school boards.
Collective agreement dispute
The dispute concerns the renewal of the collective agreement covering 2025 to 2027.
The unions rejected a written government proposal submitted on July 21, saying it provided no pay increases during the three-year period. They submitted their formal response on August 5.
The unions accused the government of maintaining its position and said they had been left with “no choice” but to strike.
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