Is there any country in the world apart from Cyprus in which employees do not allow their employer to assess their job performance? And is there any country in the world apart from Cyprus in which the employees want to dictate the method by which an employer would evaluate an employee’s job performance? These bizarre practices could only take place in a country like Cyprus which is under the dictatorship of trade unions.

Admittedly, this dictatorship is restricted to the public sector in which union bosses reign supreme and have the politicians at their beck and call. As a result of this state of affairs no public employee was ever subject to a proper evaluation. For decades, the union bosses ensured that all public employees received the top rating for their work, so promotions were based on seniority and connections rather than merit. Every lazy mediocrity and incompetent person was eligible to climb the ranks because they received a rating of ‘excellent’ for their work, while hard working, capable workers had to wait their turn to get promotion.

A proper evaluation system was introduced in the civil service last year but there was an uproar by staff, claiming they had been wronged or treated unfairly, when the assessments were made so it was suspended for improvements to be made. Teaching unions, for decades, have been doggedly resisting all attempts by the education ministry to put teacher evaluations on the agenda, using every trick they could think of to avoid even its discussion. Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, however, made it her mission to introduce a proper evaluation system, and the unions had grudgingly decided to go along with her, but demanding a say the creation of the evaluation system.

Unwisely, the minister agreed to discuss the ministry’s proposal with the unions which have seized the opportunity to delay the process. Union bosses reacted to the first draft proposal with a vicious attack on the minister, so a new set of proposals was submitted just before Easter. The head of secondary teachers’ union, Oelmek, has already stated that it cannot be accepted, because the ministry had ignored nine of its ten suggestions! Only in the mad world of the Cyprus public sector would employees believe they have the right to dictate how their employer should evaluate their work. In this mad world the employer cannot set the standards by which employees’ work would be evaluated.

It is scandalous that Oelmek, which has always prioritized the easy working life of its members, invariably at the expense of the students, actually believes it should be calling the shots. This is the union that proved its total disregard for educational standards by doing everything it could to keep in place the criminal ‘waiting list appointment system.’ This system allowed incompetent graduates into the classroom, without even an interview and gave them licence to let down their students, because Oelmek did permit the evaluation of their teaching.

The education minister should not be consulting these self-serving union bosses about anything. The evaluation system must be imposed without further discussion and if teachers do not like it, they can strike. The control of public education by teaching unions must end for the good of the students.