Thousands rally in Limassol for full restoration of cost-of-living allowance

An estimated 3,000 people from both the public and private sectors joined Thursday’s island-wide general strike in Limassol, demanding the full restoration of the cost-of-living allowance (CoLA), according to figures provided to the Cyprus Mail by the Sek trade union.

During the protest in Grigoris Afxentiou Square outside the Limassol district administration, union members and employees from construction, hotel, and industrial sectors called for a return to 100 per cent of CoLA and its expansion to all sectors and workers.

“The employers’ goal is to abolish the very elements of CoLA that shape wages,” said Peo district secretary Maria Christodoulou Siggeri. “They claim they do not want to abolish it, but their demands are leading to the stripping of the institution.”

She urged the labour ministry to take a stand against the employers’ position, which so far rejects the unions calls for a full reinstatement of the allowance, even with a gradual implementation.

Georgos Odysseos, deputy general secretary of Sek’s Limassol branch, stressed that CoLA serves a clear and specific purpose. He called on unions, employer organisations, and the labour ministry – acting as mediator – to focus on substance rather than “sterile rejections and superficial communication tactics.”

“Labour relations and workers’ rights cannot be built on hollow slogans or declarations that lack real content,” Odysseos said calling on the employers to work together to expand the allowance and respect the workers as its beneficiaries.

Deok organising secretary Pambos Charalambous warned of efforts to divide the workforce.

“Today, from every corner of Cyprus, we are sending a strong and clear message in every direction, that we are here, on the front line of resistance, against policies of labor deregulation and attempts to dismantle the welfare state, the undermining and dissolution of collective agreements,” he said.

Police told the Cyprus Mail they had no estimate of the number of participants, explaining their role was to oversee public order during the strike rather than count demonstrators.