Paphos hotel workers down tools after agreed rises not given

Workers at a specific Paphos hotel held an impromptu strike on Monday morning over the alleged refusal of hoteliers in the district to pay them 50 per cent of the cost of living allowance and violating their agreements.

Holding placards reading “CoLa for all” and “CoLa – resect for what has been agreed”, the workers gathered outside the hotel.

“Half of the hoteliers in Paphos are not implementing the agreement reached last October to grant increases to workers in the industry,” said district secretary of the Peo hotel employees branch Nikos Savvides, noting the unions support the workers’ protest.

Since January 1, employers should have paid half of the CoLa to workers, “which some units refuse to do.”

He said hoteliers have also reneged on the agreement to pay increases to workers. Some hoteliers, he continued, “violate the collective agreement without giving a 13th [salary] and some are paid €900 a month with ten years of service”.

He called on the competent ministry to ensure the employers’ side adheres to the agreements signed.

They have already, he said, called the relevant ministry, letters were sent and meetings were held but to no avail.

Secretary of hotel workers union of Sek Koulis Ignatiou told the Cyprus News Agency that the employees in question were paid but their salary did not include the indexed allowance for which there was an opinion from the legal service.

According to that opinion, he said, “clearly, the salary of the hotel employee should include the index-linked bonus and the 1.5 per cent increase, which was agreed to renew the collective agreement until 31.12.23.

“Since the employees did not see the increase and the marginal bonus they reacted and stayed out of the hotel and notified their unions,” he added.

The union sent a letter of complaint to the ministry for violation of the law as well as a letter of mediation for the raises, but most hotels did not respond. Some asked for more time and some said they would comply by paying the increases, which they did not do, the Sek secretary said.

But the specific hotel was among those that “neither sent a letter to inform the ministry of anything, nor did it enter into any dialogue with the unions”.

He noted that the unions received complaints about other hotels that violate the agreement.

In response to a question, the union representatives did not rule out the possibility that hotel workers might also come to an impromptu work stoppage tomorrow.

A spontaneous work stoppage was also held on February 7 by hotel employees of another hotel unit in Paphos.