EAC unions to meet minister to resolve outstanding issues

Trade unions to which Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) workers are affiliated are to meet with Energy Minister George Papanastasiou on Tuesday with the aim of resolving outstanding issues.

The three trade unions involved are Epopai, Sidikek, and Sibaik.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) about the matter on Friday, Sidikek’s EAC workers’ secretary Demetris Constantinou explained, “we are waiting for the meeting with the minister, and if there are no results on the issues we have raised many times … we will take decisions which we will judge to serve the well-intentioned interests of the organisation and its employees.”

The issues at hand, he said, are understaffing, inspections of facilities, the use of renewable energy sources in production, the modernisation of the Dhekelia power station, and other labour issues which he said, “are pending and taking time”.

He added that members of the three unions have formally given consent for the unions to handle the matters, with industrial action seemingly not off the table should the issues not be cleared up on Tuesday.

The meeting comes after the unions had on Wednesday addressed a letter to the EAC’s board of directors, as well as the finance, labour, and energy ministers, citing “serious issues” in the running of the organisation.

“We had warned that we would proceed with decisions, including the possibility of strike actions,” the letter said.

“Unfortunately, despite the time allowance given to you, following the meeting with the energy minister on November 7, the content of our letter still stands as there is no progress observed,” they added.

They had criticised what they described as “intertia” within the EAC and referred to the organisation’s obligation “for faithful implementation of agreements and collective contracts, and for resolving labour issues affecting the entire spectrum of the organisation’s personnel, which remain pending and cause unrest within the workforce, significantly impacting its smooth operation.”