Workers at the Larnaca port staged a protest on Friday morning against former port operator Kition Ocean Holdings.

The protest was held over fears regarding whether they will be paid at the end of the month, and by whom, after Kition’s contract to operate the port and Larnaca’s marina terminated by the government on Monday, and Kition had then sent notice of dismissal to all its workers at the Larnaca port on Tuesday night.

The workers tore down flags bearing Kition’s name and covered the sign at the port entrance with one bearing the ports authority’s logo instead of Kition’s.

Some protesters carried placards reading, “87 families on the street, why?”, “a shame and a disgrace,” and “a terrible injustice for the employees of Kition and Larnaca.”

They were also met by House President Annita Demetriou, who spoke to demonstrators outside the port and then sat down for a meeting with some of the port workers.

Speaking after the meeting, Demetriou said answers “need to be given”, and called on the labour ministry to meet with the workers and offer them reassurances regarding their pay.

“Of course they are worried”, she said, adding that she is “saddened beyond my imagination” that the situation has reached this point.

The protest was taking place ahead of an extraordinary meeting of the House transport committee to discuss the ongoing sequence of events. The committee has invited Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades, auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides, and representatives from Kition to attend.

During the meeting, it was made clear that it would take years to restore the project to its previous state before the contract termination.

Vafeades said there will have to be a conclusion on what the state’s options are and a working group will be set up immediately in the ministry for this purpose.

He also pledged that the views of the municipality will be considered. He said that it is of paramount importance for the president to quickly reinstate the project, making it clear that this project “is not for us, it is for our children” and it should be the right development for Larnaca. 

Michaelides mentioned that new viability studies would be needed before re-tendering the project, a process that would take years. A legal service representative noted that there is no court order preventing the state from proceeding with the re-tendering process, although it is time-consuming.

Meanwhile, the Cyprus Ports Authority has expressed its readiness to invest in the port and possibly the Larnaca marina, which could speed up the procedures. Vafeades assured that the issue with the contractor company’s employees would be clarified soon and that their participation in the port’s work is guaranteed, in agreement with the unions. He expressed hope that the agreement would be implemented quickly to reassure the workers of Kition Ocean Holdings.

Kition Ocean Holdings stated that the termination of the agreement was a tragic development for Larnaca’s residents and city. The company was ready to proceed with all construction projects, but its legal adviser George Georgiou cited a lack of communication and understanding with the government.

Friday marked the first time Kition have been invited to speak at the House transport committee since they failed to appear when invited to another such meeting in April.

They had insisted at the time that their no-show was a “misunderstanding” and that it should not “be perceived as a sign of disrespect”, but the moment marked a step in deteriorating relations between the company and the government which led to Monday’s termination.

Looking to the future of the port, Vafeades said on Thursday that Qatar had shown an interest in taking on its running, following a visit to the island by the country’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani earlier in the week.

Vafeades had said on Thursday that Christodoulides had given “clear instructions” that he wants the issue to be handled “immediately”.