Newsroom
Cyprus could be heading for a fresh round of labor unrest in 2026, as unions and employers brace for new clashes over wages, pensions and workers’ rights, despite the government having closed the minimum monthly wage issue just weeks ago.
Trade unions warn that labor peace is once again at risk unless President Nikos Christodoulides moves quickly on a list of unresolved issues they say have been promised but not delivered. At the same time, employers are pushing back hard, saying reopening settled agreements would throw labor relations into chaos.
According to an article by Kathimerini's Dorita Yiannakou, the warning signs are already there. Unions SEK, PEO and DEOK have sent a joint memorandum to the president, calling for immediate decisions on four major issues: setting an hourly minimum wage, expanding collective agreements to cover 80% of workers as encouraged by an EU directive, revising the employment strategy for third-country nationals, and finally rolling out the long-delayed ERGANI 2 labor monitoring system.
Pension reform, postponed in 2025, is also returning to the table, with the government aiming to secure the sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund and improve pensions, particularly for low-income retirees.
These issues will dominate Friday’s first Labor Advisory Board meeting of the year, chaired by Labor Minister Marinos Mousiouttas, with unions and employers expected to lay out sharply different positions. While unions credit the minister for restarting dialogue, they are making it clear that patience is running out.
On the minimum wage, unions argue that although the new decree sets the monthly wage, the hourly rate can still be fixed through a new decision if there is political will. They also want public contracts linked to the existence of collective agreements, saying this would prevent unfair competition.
Employers, however, strongly disagree. Business groups CCCI and OEB insist that an 80% collective agreement coverage cannot be imposed, pointing to EU court rulings. OEB’s director general, Michalis Antoniou, warns that revisiting the minimum wage would undermine the rules of tripartite cooperation and destabilize the labor system. While employers themselves are unhappy with the size of the recent wage increase, they say the issue is closed for the next two years.
Bottom line, with unions demanding action, employers drawing red lines, and the government caught between them, Cyprus enters 2026 with labor relations on edge. Whether dialogue holds or gives way to confrontation now depends on how quickly and decisively the president moves on the promises still on the table.
