Panayiotis Rougalas
On July 21, or at the latest on July 22, 2022, an agreement will be reached to determine the minimum wage in Cyprus.
After the meeting of the Minister of Labor Kyriakos Koushos on Friday, July 8th with the employer and trade union organizations in an attempt to bridge the gap for the minimum wage, it seems that all parties pared down their demands to more realistic proportions.
Specifically, as "K" has been informed, it was agreed that on July 21st the Minister should conduct separate meetings each with the employers and the unions, followed by a joint meeting with all parties involved either on the same day or the next wherein an agreement could finally be reached.
According to sources, there is a push to set the minimum wage at 924 euros, an amount that applies to nine professions in Cyprus today. Further details such as whether exceptions will be made to specific professional groups, or whether it will be agreed upon based on the survey of the EU Silc (EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) or the Statistical Service, were not brought up at Thursday's meeting. The same applies to the transitional period, no such discussion was raised at this stage.
So for now, the deadline to come to an agreement on minimum wage that was set for the end of August is nil since efforts are now being made to come to an agreement by the 21st or the 22nd of July. Moreover, the meeting on Tuesday received a lot of negative criticism from the trade unions, accusing the government and employers of "backsliding" on the work of the late Minister of Labour, Mr. Zeta Emilianidou.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
