Oelmek president Demetris Taliadoros said he would not be retracting a remark he made about Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, construed as “sexist”, despite his union’s plea for him to apologise.

Taliadoros had said “a woman turned up fifty years later to change the plan”, referring to the government’s teacher evaluation plan that is set to be discussed in parliament on Wednesday, following months of contention.

In statements to Politis radio, Taliadoros said he never intended to devalue women and refused to apologise.

“It is not sexist at all […] Society’s opinion is respected. Allow me to say that it is not sexist and let us see the substance” of the matter, he said.

He added that “if someone considers that women are being harmed, then it is withdrawn,” however he avoided apologising to the minister.

Taliadoros had made the remark on Ant1, while complaining that President Nikos Christodoulides had not met with them but just listened to his minister.

“For us, it is not about receiving medals. If some people want to say that for the first time a woman was found to change the teacher evaluation plan, we are not interested. We are not interested in the reputation of anyone or anything, nor if they want to reap the benefits in view of elections,” Taliadoros had said.

The remarks were slammed on social media by politicians and the public.

Meanwhile, Oelmek vice-president Andreas Mavratsas urged Taliadoros to apologise for the remark, which he said did not reflect the principles of the union.

Mavratsas acknowledged that Oelmek’s disagreement with the education minister was substantive, however he pointed out that “the manner in which we express ourselves is of great importance”.

“The least the president of Oelmek can do is make a public and clear apology,” Mavratsas added.