Cyprus’ unions have always championed collective agreements at the workplace, insisting that the regime existing in the protected public sector is also imposed in the private sector. The demand for collective agreements in the last few years, when several sectors are experiencing difficulties finding workers, has become a condition for the unions consenting to the employment of third country individuals.

This was set as a condition for hotels being allowed to hire foreign workers, with unions arguing that hotels which did not have collective agreements in place should not be given approval to employ third country nationals. The same situation has now appeared in the construction industry, which has lost some 8,000 Syrian workers that were repatriated and is seeking to bring workers from abroad. All three major unions are opposing these, threatening strikes if the labour ministry does not provide “immediate solutions.”

Union officials consider it “unacceptable” that work permits were being issued to contractors that do not comply with the collective agreements and violate labour law. Their other complaint is that Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas, who met them in June, never invited them again for their dialogue to be completed. What was really meant by this was that the minister had agreed to embrace their demand for collective agreements.

The labour shortage is affecting construction, with delays in many projects. An agreement signed between Egypt and Cyprus last spring that would allow Cyprus contractors to hire Egyptian workers has proved totally ineffective – not a single worker has been hired so far, according to Mousiouttas – but it is unclear whether this is because of state red tape or union obstacles. The minister had said that there was a request submitted to the deputy ministry of migration to give these applications priority.

The other mistake of the government is its failure to make clear that placing foreign workers under the collective agreement regime was not necessary. Instead of doing this, Mousiouttas chose not to meet the union bosses so that any confrontation could be avoided. Is an employer legally obliged to have a collective agreement in place? If not, what is the union demand based on? For a work permit to be issued to a foreign worker the authorities require a signed contract between employer and employee.

The collective agreement is a union demand not a legal requirement. We have a market economy in which there is no stipulation in law that wages should be determined by unions via collective agreements. That these exist in some businesses is because employer and union have agreed to such an agreement. But a worker can also be employed on a personal contract, which is the case in many businesses. It is time the labour minister explained this to the union bosses.