New meeting over CoLA in hopes impasse can be averted

Minister of Labour, Kyriacos Koushos, will hold a new meeting withtrade unions and employers’ organisations over CoLA on Tuesday.

The meeting is being held in an ongoing an attempt to stave off labour unrest and bridge the gap between the two sides, so that a new agreement can be signed following expiration of the previous 2018-2020 agreement.

Last Thursday, the latest joint meeting of employer and trade unions took place, at which time it was stated that by Tuesday the minister would make his decisions.

The minister said the trade unions had let him understand that they were ready to accept a gradual reinstatement of CoLA while, on the other hand, the employers accepted the agreement of July 2017 and undertook to implement it, that is, payment of 50 per cent CoLA.

Koushios added, however, that these positions were not yet sufficiently congruent for him to be able to submit a proposal.

“Next Tuesday, after I cooperate with the officials of the ministry and inform the Minister of Finance and the President, I will make my decisions, [on] whether and to what extent I will declare an impasse, or whether I will submit a mediation proposal,” Koushos said.

Meanwhile, the trade unions, after the meeting of last Thursday, held a new all-trade union meeting, in which they ratified the decisions of January 5, for a united and universal struggle for the full restoration of CoLA.