Minister confident of CoLA agreement within days

Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou said on Monday that he is confident an agreement over the cost of living allowance will be reached within the next few days.

Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, he said an agreement is crucial particularly ahead of the summer season.

He added that there is constant communication with those involved in the drawn-out dispute, offering that he does not view a collapse of the negotiations as a high probability.

He concluded by saying that there are expectations of a meeting to be scheduled on the matter within the day.

On Friday the minister held separate meetings with the unions and employers’ federations to discuss his latest proposal to solve the dispute, which had been rejected by the former and partly agreed to by the latter.

The cost of living allowance, implemented since 1944, was suspended after the 2013 crisis and partially reinstated in 2018. Trade unions and employers’ organisations had entered discussions following the expiration of a deal struck in July 2017 that provided for employers to pay 50 per cent of CoLA.