Diplomatic staff to hold 24-hour strike over appointment

Foreign Ministry diplomats will hold a full-day work strike on Wednesday over the appointment of a non-diplomat to the position of ambassador.

A written statement by government union Pasydy said staff members decided on the stoppage after “noticing a lack of response” to their requests.

Last week, members of the diplomatic service held a two-hour work stoppage to protest the appointment of Petros Demetriou, a decision the public service commission (PSC) said it would not be rescinding.

The statement said that employees are also demanding that their allowances, which were cut by 15 per cent during the economic crisis, return to normal.

In addition, they ask to be excluded from any public service reforms, “which are being promoted without the necessary dialogue or taking into account the peculiarities of the foreign service”.

Foreign ministry staff want to be exempted from a provision allowing civil servants of a particular pay scale to apply for promotions in other government departments.

Employees will gather outside the foreign ministry at 8.30am on Wednesday. The same measure will be taken in Cyprus’ diplomatic missions abroad, the union added.