Trade unions are demanding the full restoration of the cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA/ATA) following a three-hour general strike that disrupted airports, schools and public transport across the island on Thursday.
Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou will contact social partners on Friday to begin a new round of consultations after thousands of public and private sector workers participated in the warning strike. The industrial action affected Larnaca Airport significantly, with flight rescheduling creating overcrowding after the strike ended.
Strike highlights broader labour tensions
The general secretary of the SEK union, Andreas Matsas, told Phileleftheros the strike demonstrated that cost-of-living concerns affect both public and private sector workers due to the participation of both types of workers.
He outlined three key demands: full restoration of the allowance, rejection of any graduated implementation, and extension of the scheme to all workers.
“If the government means ‘CoLA for everyone,’ it can implement it immediately by including the CoLA in the minimum wage, a decision that would immediately benefit approximately 58,000 workers,” Matsas told Phileleftheros after the strike.
Union representatives warned of escalating measures if positive signals do not emerge from the authorities. Employers, meanwhile, indicated they would not participate in negotiations if universal coverage remains on the table.
President calls for dialogue
President Nikos Christodoulides addressed the issue following the strike, stating that whilst the right to strike is respected, it solves no problems and leaves everyone worse off.
“From the strike mobilisation there is no winner. On the contrary, everyone comes out losing. From the unions to the employers, the government and especially the Cypriot people, who suffer from the mobilisations,” Christodoulides said.
The president rejected suggestions of government division on the issue, emphasising that authorities had established a framework for discussing modernisation of the institution.
He criticised those who were “protagonists in cutting the CoLA in 2012” for their current opposition stance.
“They were the ones who led the economy to a state where we could not only not give CoLA but were forced to cut it, as well as other rights and gains of workers,” Christodoulides said
Social partners indicated they would assess whether messages from the strike had registered with decision-makers before determining next steps. The labour ministry’s planned consultations represent the latest attempt to resolve the standoff through dialogue.