Hotel unions on Friday threatened to go on a collective strike, a few days after rejecting a mediation proposal on collective agreements put forth by Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou.

In a statement, unions Ouxeka Sek and Syxka Peo said they decided to take industry-wide measures across the country.

Though a date has not been set for any strike, the unions called “on all employees in the hotel industry to jointly participate” when more details become available.

Employers had accepted the proposal but unions turned it down, reportedly because they wanted the collective agreements to apply to all hotel staff whether they were part of the unions or not.

Additionally, unions also wanted a retroactive pay of salary increases.

Panayiotou expressed optimism that a solution could be found, provided all parties involved took up their share of responsibility.

The volatile geopolitical situation, Cyprus’ development prospects and income demands all factor in to the importance of reaching an agreement over the collective agreements, he said.