Low-wage civil servants’ strike to go ahead despite Pasydy insisting on dialogue

The 24-hour low-wage civil servants’ strike is set to go ahead on Wednesday, despite its trade union Pasydy insisting on continuing its dialogue with the finance ministry.

Low-wage civil servants had announced their intention to strike on Saturday following a consultation with Pasydy the previous day.

A meeting was supposed to be held between Pasydy, representatives of the low-wage civil servants, and President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday at the latest, but as this deadline passed, and with time now running out until the strike begins, it appears the strike will go ahead.

Pasydy said on Monday they had “been in communication” with the president’s office on Monday and that the government had “reaffirmed its intention to resolve the issue”.

They added that there is set to be a meeting today between the finance ministry’s permanent secretary George Panteli and union representatives on Tuesday.

They insist that there be “sincere and intense efforts in the next few days through the process of good faith dialogue and negotiation to reach an agreement”, and said they will “give room for the dialogue process to reach a conclusion”.

However, the Low-Wage Civil Servants’ Initiative Group has given no indication it will call off the strike.

At the same time, trade union Isotita has called on people to join the strike in support of low-wage civil servants, saying they will gather outside the Presidential Palace at 8:30am on Wednesday.

They said Wednesday will be “a landmark day for the struggle of our low-wage colleagues to ensure decent living conditions.”