Developments on the hot issue of the cost of living allowance (CoLA) should be expected after the Easter holidays but within April, Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou said on Tuesday.
The government’s goal is to reach an agreement with the unions the soonest possible, he also said before repeating any possible solution might not fully satisfy all parties.
The mediation proposal is expected to be presented within the framework the minister has already pointed out publicly many a times.
That is, based on the government’s position that the CoLA should not be abolished but reimbursed either at 100%.
Also, the government wants the 2017 transitional agreement to be renewed.
However, the framework proposed by the Minister is believed to include the possibility of an even small increase in the 50% of the CoLA.
The 2017 agreement, which re-started the institution, provides for payment of the CoLA at 50% of the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index on the first of the month of each year.
Bu this provides that the second and third quarters of the previous year show a positive growth sign.
Unions keep sendingthe message that the issues surrounding CoLA cannot remain pending for much longer.