The biggest threat to the future of Gesy are the nurses and doctors of the public hospitals whose sense of entitlement and greed knows no bounds. Ever since public hospitals were placed under the authority of Okypy (organisation of state health services) and joined Gesy, doctors’ and nurses’ unions have been regularly demanding higher pay, attacking their employer and threatening strikes. This despicable behaviour, aimed at milking dry Okypy, has proved very effective, with hospital doctors fighting for and receiving huge pay rises under the Anastasiades government; nursing union militancy was also well-rewarded.

The unions representing nurses are at it again now, wanting to change the terms of employment of contractual staff, to bring them more in line with Okypy workers who have retained their civil servant status and are guaranteed pay increments every year. The original agreement with workers on contract was that pay rises would be given every three years, but unions are demanding pay rises every year, which Okypy had agreed to, but the relevant legislation was not passed. Now the unions are also demanding annual, incremental pay scales for contract staff so that they will be treated in the same way as civil servants seconded to Okypy.

It is not surprising that this has now happened. The original thinking by the government was that all new staff of Okypy would be hired on contracts, so that wages would be kept under control, until the time came when all those on civil servant terms would retire and Okypy would have a more manageable payroll. The unions have no intention of allowing this to happen and are now demanding that contract workers are also put on civil service pay terms.

When the first collective agreement that expired at the end of 2025 was signed, Okypy had included a provision by which pay rises would be linked to increases in productivity and the evaluation of workers, but unions appear to have now rejected the idea.

Unions proposed discussion of incremental pay scales which could be introduced in 2028, but Okypy has rejected the idea leading the negotiations to deadlock. Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides has now decided to mediate but has asked for some time to try to bridge the differences.

The danger of politicians becoming involved is their inclination to side with the unions – there are presidential elections on the horizon and the government is unlikely to want to alienate unions. If the government sides with the unions the Okypy board will be forced to agree to incremental pay scales for all staff, ensuring hospital labour costs eventually veer out of control.

It would be disgraceful if the nursing unions have their way. They have pressured political parties to block a government bill that aimed to solve the nursing shortage by allowing the employment of third country nationals by private hospitals and now are using this shortage to push unreasonable pay demands. This behaviour that is guaranteed to undermine the effort to make public hospital self-financing must not be rewarded.