Trade unions and employers disagree on national minimum wage parameters

Efforts to come to an agreement on the establishment of a national minimum wage in Cyprus were unsuccessful during a scheduled meeting on Tuesday held by the President with trade unionists and employers' unions.  Trade unionists blamed employers for introducing last-minute changes and employers' unions argued that nothing was set in stone from previous discussions.

After the meeting chaired by President Nicos Anastasiades, Government Spokesman Marios Pelekanos announced that the dialogue will continue with the aim of establishing a national minimum wage as soon as possible, however, no timeframe was given.

Pelekanos said that due to differences between employers' organisations and the trade unions that had emerged during this morning's discussions, the President requested that the dialogue be continued under the auspices of the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Kyriacos Koushos, within the framework of a strict timeframe. He also said that with a demonstration of goodwill from the parties involved, these differences can be bridged.

At the meeting, trade unions criticised the employers' organisations for making changes to the framework prepared during the consultations with the late Minister of Labour, Zeta Emilianidou, with the employers countering that they never said that the matter was final.

The Chairman of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), Christodoulos Angastiniotis, in his statements, pointed out that the President made it clear that the basis on which the minimum wage will be calculated will be the calculations regarding the median wage in Cyprus, of the Statistical Service which is €1.573 and not of the EU SILC which is €1.727.

He said that aim was for the dialogue to conclude by the end of August at the latest.

Director-General of the Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB), Michalis Antoniou, said they had not seen the proposals of the unions, nor had the unions seen the employers’ proposals, since all sides were scheduled to submit them last month at the time when the late Labour Minister was admitted to hospital.

The trade union representatives stated that the national minimum wage needs to reflect today’s conditions, not those of the past.

PEO General Secretary, Sotiroulla Charalambous said the dialogue concerns establishing “decent” employment conditions for workers and that her union will not agree to wages that are below the poverty line.

Chairman of DEOK, Iosif Anastasiaou said that they expected the conclusion of the dialogue today so that a fair minimum wage would be announced but that the employers' organisations have raised issues, which essentially overturn the entire discussion.

The General Secretary of SEK, Andreas Matsas said that today, "we have taken steps backwards," adding that it was clear that there were efforts underway to change the framework, prepared by the late Labour Minister herself, with the contribution of the social partners.