Striking education ministry staff to march on presidential palace over pay and work demands

Nicosia, Cyprus. Striking education ministry employees, among them staff of its support programmes and night school instructors, will march to the presidential palace on Thursday. They want the government to settle two unresolved matters.

Rallies and planned march

The trade unions Peo and Sek organised simultaneous rallies in every district on Monday afternoon. The action will peak at 3pm on November 5 with a large gathering outside the finance ministry, after which participants will march to the presidential palace.

Related: Education Ministry Support Staff to Begin Indefinite Strike Over Months of Unpaid Wages

RelatedEducation Ministry Support Staff to Begin Indefinite Strike Over Months of Unpaid Wages

Union representatives dismissed suggestions that the mobilisation was disproportionate. They pointed to the conditions workers have endured for five months.

The unions’ demands

According to the unions, the strike came after many months of efforts, consultations and repeated interventions that produced no substantial solutions. They are asking the government to keep its commitments on two points.

The first concerns income during the summer for permanent staff. While the programmes are suspended, these employees receive no pay and cannot claim unemployment benefit.

The second concerns immediate employment for colleagues who have served in the programmes for many years and are currently out of work.

In a joint statement, the unions said: “It is not possible for workers to remain without income for months.” They also appealed for understanding from the students who take part in the programmes.

Statement at the Nicosia rally

Sek official George Konstantinou told the rally in Nicosia that workers had been “without any income for five months now”.