Teaching staff at the Cyprus University of Technology (Tepak) went on strike on Thursday, demanding payment for extraordinary travel expenses incurred after their teaching duties were relocated from Limassol and Nicosia to Paphos.
The strike was announced on Wednesday, with faculty and special education staff stating they had no choice but to take action after the university breached a signed agreement on travel expenses.
“We have shown patience,” said Antonis Theocharous, representative of the faculty members and teaching staff. Theocharous further accused an individual within Tepak – the director of administration and finance – of refusing to implement the University Council’s decision for two years.
He claimed this refusal, which he attributed to inconsistency and ulterior motives, had exposed the University Council and created serious operational issues for the school.
The travel expenses in question concerns teaching staff originally hired to work at Tepak’s main campus in Limassol but now required to travel or even relocate to Paphos for their duties. Theocharous explained that these staff members typically begin their journey in Nicosia, traveling first to Limassol and then to Paphos.
The reimbursement request, however, only pertains to the leg of the journey from Limassol to Paphos.
Theochaurous claimed that the board of directors of the university, the education ministry, the Council of Ministers and the president himself wanted the agreement to be respected.
The teaching staff of the school called for an immediate resolution, emphasising their desire to avoid any negative impact on students, who they said were being “victimised over such minor issues.”
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