Hourly paid civil servants remain on course for a nationwide strike on September 17 unless the government submits a revised pay proposal beforehand, representatives of three trade unions informed on Thursday.

Officials from the civil servants’ union branch (Oekdy-SEK), the democratic labour federation (Deok) and the construction workers brancher of the worker’s federation (Pasyek-PEO), which together represent around 7,500 hourly paid government employees, said no developments had taken place since August 5, when the strike decision was formally announced.

George Constantinou, speaking on behalf of Oekdy-SEK, said the unions were waiting for the government to respond to calls for continued negotiation aimed at securing general wage increases for hourly paid staff.

“Our goal is not to strike or cause suffering to the public or workers,” he insisted.

“Our goal is to reach an agreement that improves wages, which are very low.”

He added that any softening of their position depended on the government entering meaningful dialogue and agreeing to raise pay for its lowest earners, describing the affected staff as among the worst paid in the country when measured against private sector equivalents.

Constantinou expressed hope that “reason and a humane approach” would prevail.

Stavros Andreou of Pasyek-PEO said workers were awaiting the convening of the six ministerial committees, provided for under joint labour committee regulations in cases of disagreement, along with a possible revised government offer.

He confirmed the strike would proceed on September 17 should no acceptable proposal emerge beforehand, warning that hourly staff across public schools, government departments and public hospitals would take part.

He called the planned action a “last resort” and cautioned that measures would be escalated further in the absence of a different government response.

He likewise reiterated Constantinou’s claim that the unions did not wish to inconvenience the public or disrupt children’s schooling.

Andreas Antoniou, representing Deok-Kdoko-Deok, said union executives had examined and rejected the ministry’s proposal during their August 5 meeting, remarking that the only general pay increase in fifteen years had in some cases fallen short of the minimum €28 rise granted to other state employees.

He said the unions were demanding a proposal that reflected the pressures created by the cost of living.