Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou is confident that reform bills will be tabled in parliament over the coming weeks, despite the social partners saying otherwise.

Addressing the pension forum in Nicosia, Panayiotou outlined the government’s aims and the positive outcome so far, such as reducing unemployment to below 5 per cent.

Panayiotou stressed the importance of strengthening the middle class and assured that by the end of the government’s term Cyprus would have comprehensive, viable and adequate pension system for future generations, in line with the president’s governance programme.

The necessary technical preparation for pension reforms has been completed with the assistance of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), while the EU package of measures to upgrade pensions has helped significantly.

The minister said that over the next few weeks the government expected to be able to submit reform bills to the House, despite the social partners saying that the road ahead was long and strewn with pending issues.

The aim, he said, was for the cabinet to approve the bills and the House to pass them before the upcoming parliamentary elections.

According to Stockwatch, Panayiotou pointed out that the adequacy of pensions depended on the prior adequacy of salaries, even though higher salaries were considered a burden for businesses and organisations.

Referring to the recent agreement on the cost-of-living allowance (CoLA), Panayiotou said it should be further utilised by employers.

He also said increasing the minimum salary would improve the life of low-income families and pointed out the importance of a comprehensive action plan for collective negotiations that would allow more workers to enjoy better salaries.

Panayiotou said the middle class accounted for less than 50 per cent of the population and stressed that it should be raised to above 60 per cent for the future to be financially and socially viable.