Newsroom
After ten days off the road, Larnaca’s public bus drivers will be back behind the wheel tomorrow morning.
The drivers, who work for Larnaca Public Transport, voted at a general assembly Friday to accept a new mediation proposal from the Ministry of Labor. The deal came after a marathon meeting Thursday between Labor Minister Yiannis Panayiotou and union leaders from PEO, SEK and DEOK.
At the heart of the dispute was a one-hour break the company had refused to recognize and pay for under the drivers’ collective agreement. Under the new deal, that break will be restored, and any overtime beyond 7 hours and 36 minutes will be paid from the very first minute.
The agreement also ensures that breaks omitted from official “route cards” will now be included, meaning drivers will be paid for that time. Any changes to the cards will require union sign-off, and disputes over their functionality will be reviewed by the relevant ministries.
Officials also moved up the timeline for joint evaluations of breaks and routes, which will now happen in the final ten days of each month.
The strike had brought bus service in Larnaca to a standstill for more than a week, frustrating commuters but strengthening drivers’ resolve. By Friday morning, they decided the new offer met their demands and that it was time to put the handbrake down and get moving again.
