Introduction of minimum wage up in the air

By George Pirishis

There are new developments regarding the introduction of the minimum wage in the market since the general director of the Federation of Employers and Industrialists (OEB), Michalis Antoniou, told the newspaper that the employers’ side is asking for the freezing of the dialogue until the economic situation is normalised. 

According to  Antoniou, due to the volatile situation that has arisen in the global and Cypriot economy, any discussion on the legislative regulation of the minimum wage at this time would be considered irrational. 

“The timing is not right for the implementation of the minimum wage as we have much more serious turmoil to deal with, with two simultaneous crises, one of the pandemic and the other being the Russian-Ukrainian crisis,” Antoniou said.

“Therefore, any discussion at this time on the issue is inappropriate,” the OEB director general added.

Moreover, according to information provided to the newspaper, the same concerns are also being discussed by the Ministry of Labour. 

According to the same information, soon the competent minister Zeta Emilianidou is expected to contact all social partners to put on the table of negotiations the current conditions that have been generated, regarding the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis on the Cypriot economy.

However, in our communication with the general secretary of trade union PEO, Sotiroula Charalambous, and raising the issue of freezing the dialogue on the minimum wage, Charalambous expressed the view that the dialogue should be completed. 

“It is at this time that mechanisms are needed to implement the basic rights of workers since in times of crisis there is a large portion of employers who want to pass on the costs to workers,” she said. 

“We believe that the implementation of the minimum wage in Cyprus is a tool to ensure economic activity, especially in times of economic uncertainty,” Charalambous added.

The government had previously committed to proceed with the institutionalisation of the minimum wage through a consensual dialogue between the social partners which should have been completed in early 2022. 

The employers’ side always had its misgivings in relation to this issue, particularly with regard to setting the mechanism in times of reduced economic activity, since through the dialogue so far, the employers’ side was concerned about the inflexibility of its adjustment. 

On the other hand, the determination of the minimum wage was an issue that had been demanded by the trade union side for a long time now. 

However, the dialogue that has been going on for some months has revealed the differences that exist between social partners, particularly with regard to PEO’s side, which has been asking that the discussion on the introduction of a minimum wage be linked to arrangements to ensure that the minimum wages that are agreed are in line with the terms in pre-existing collective agreements.