Bus drivers decide to continue strike action, labour ministry initiative in the air (update 3)

Bus drivers decide to continue strike action, labour ministry initiative in the air

By Constandinos Tsindas

Bus drivers in Nicosia and Larnaca on Monday decided to continue strike action launched on Saturday after they were sent redundancy letters and over a host of issues outstanding for the past two years.

Following general assembly meetings in both cities on Monday morning, during which SEK and PEO unions informed drivers on the latest developments, employees said they were not satisfied with deliberations on resolving the dispute and would not return to their jobs.

Earlier in the day, PEO union transport branch leader Athos Eleftheriou had said that the acceptance of an initiative by Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou was “under the condition that redundancy notices are withdrawn and urgent issues resolved”.

Bus drivers have organised a protest for tomorrow morning and will deliver a petition to the transport ministry.

Eleftheriou stressed that current issues include health and safety, legislation, employee working hours and infrastructures and have been pending for the past two years.

There had been a positive development earlier as Eleftheriou told the Cyprus News Agency the company had rescinded a number of the redundancy letters sent to employees via email.

“The company has recognised that sending such a letter was a mistake and is prepared to withdraw its action,” Eleftheriou added.

However, “even though Cyprus Public Transport has withdrawn the dismissal letters and accepted the two ministries’ invitation to discuss and find solutions to the dispute, we were informed this morning that the unions rejected the invitation and are not coming to the negotiations” the statement said.

Transport Minister Yiannos Karousos meeting striking workers on Sunday eveningThe company had sent redundancy notices to 36 employees.

Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos was at the central bus depot in Larnaca on Sunday night where he held talks with union officials, which extended beyond midnight, according to PEO Larnaca district secretary Nadia Kyritsi.

“Karousos said that the ministry was showing real interest in improving public transport and will undertake efforts to solve long standing as well as current issues that were put to him by unions,” she said.

Measures led to longer traffic queues this morning, beyond normal weekday congestion.

Employees of the company had called the indefinite strike on Friday, demanding their employer revoke the redundancies and resolve a number of problems.

They said that the drivers’ working schedule was compressed and in many cases they did not have the required breaks. Tachographs do not operate on a number of buses, while checks from the road transport department are inadequate.

Cypriot employees at many of the operation’s departments have been sidelined, they stressed, and work is being done by staff brought in from abroad – more than 80 drivers and about 20 auxiliary employees have left since the new company took over.

Cyprus public transport also issued an announcement on Monday afternoon, apologising to the public for “the ongoing inconvenience caused by the sudden and announced strike of the bus drivers in Nicosia and Larnaca”.

It added the company had reached into an agreement with the unions, as well as the labour and transport department, to stop the strike on Saturday, withdraw the dismissal letters and resume negotiations.