Trade unions on Thursday appeared to signal that a deal with employers is feasible over the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) dispute, ahead of a crunch meeting between the sides scheduled for Friday.
Delegates representing the unions SEK, PEO, Deok and Pasydy held talks lasting two-and-a-half hours with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou.
A day earlier, the two ministers had met separately with employers’ organisations.
“We’ve laid out our positions, we’ve cited our red lines, we’ve indicated the concessions we’ve made, and we were briefed on the positions of the employers,” Pasydy union boss Stratis Mattheou told media after Thursday afternoon’s meeting.
“We now expect the ministers to make the next move”.
Mattheou said a joint meeting of all the sides would take place sometime in the next few days – but did not give a date.
That meeting, he stressed, would be the “last one.”
He added: “Either we’ll clinch a deal or we will have a deadlock”.
Similar comments were made by Sotiroulla Charalambous, head of the PEO syndicate. She likewise said it was up to the ministers to decide where the process goes from here.
Later in the evening, the labour ministry put out a statement saying the stakeholders would hold a joint meeting on Friday.
The talks follow Wednesday’s meeting between the two ministers and the heads of the employers’ federations OEV and Keve, which lasted about an hour and a half. After that meeting, both organisations said that there was still a long way to go before reaching a comprehensive agreement.
They confirmed that a range of issues had been discussed to identify possible areas of convergence that could form the basis for a deal.
The Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV) director Michalis Antoniou told the Cyprus News Agency that the organisation is awaiting the decisions of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Keve), expected later in the day, as well as the outcome of the ministers’ afternoon meeting with the trade unions before announcing the positions agreed at Thursday evening’s session of the employers’ organisations.
Asked to confirm reports that OEV had decided to reject the government’s negotiation framework during its meeting the previous evening, Antoniou said, “I cannot deny the information, that would be misleading,” but declined to elaborate further.
“We will wait to see what the chamber decides. I believe we should first see how the ministers’ talks with the unions unfold, and depending on developments, we will act accordingly. We have a position, objectives, a plan, everything needed for this process,” Antoniou said.
However, he stressed that “coordination, proper timing and institutional management are crucial. It is important to respect institutional procedures, as the industrial relations system is the only mechanism that allows us to overcome deadlocks.”
Awaiting further developments, Antoniou did not confirm whether a joint meeting of all sides could take place on Friday, saying that “everything remains fluid.”
“The course of developments is not predetermined,” he said.
Asked if the process was nearing completion, he said that “the expression of hope that we will conclude is just that, an expression of hope and nothing more. My hopes are not yet confirmed.”
Last week, the government circulated a confidential negotiation framework to both employer and trade union organisations. Both sides said the document contained ambiguities and sought further clarification. Christodoulou said that the unions want the CoLA system to be extended to cover more workers and to ensure that companies do not treat labour costs as a flexible expense.
CoLA, a mechanism adjusting wages in line with inflation, has been the subject of protracted negotiations between government, employers, and unions since early this year. All sides have expressed willingness to continue dialogue to reach a balanced and sustainable agreement.
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