Paphos municipal workers will stage a two-hour work stoppage on Thursday to press the municipality to go ahead with the hiring and promotion of workers in line with a relevant labour department document.

In their statement, the employees of the municipality said they have exhausted all the possibilities for consultation but found the municipality refuses to respect the need for regulated labour relations.

Hence, following the procedures of the industrial relations code, they will hold the strike between 10am to 12pm on Thursday.

They explained they are protesting against the refusal of the municipality to implement the minutes of the department of labour relations dated December 14, 2021.

The municipality should have filled 22 positions of workers by January 31, and to have promoted three secretaries by March 31, they said. The local authority should have also paid the delayed arrears to the welfare fund and should have created new operating regulations by March 31, they added.

Furthermore, a meeting should have been held in January 2022 to settle the time schedule of municipal traffic wardens taking into account the provisions of the Organisation of Working Hours Act, 2002 (N63(I)2002 as regards in the non-payment of pension benefits.

The municipal workers apologised to the public for any inconvenience caused during the work stoppage.