Minimum wage proposal to be ready this week

Labour Minister Kyriacos Koushios said on Monday he will submit a final proposal on the national minimum wage at meetings with stakeholders on Thursday and Friday, with the aim of securing a final decision earlier than scheduled.

The minister told CyBC radio that he will make the decision as “according to the provisions of the legislation there is no need for Cabinet or House approval.”

President Nicos Anastasiades had set a deadline for the end of August to resolve the issue but the minister’s goal is to have the final decision earlier than scheduled.

“If stakeholders cannot agree on the proposal, the government will still make the decision, even with disagreements,” Koushios told CyBC.

The main disagreement between unions and employers’ organisation was over the method of determining a median salary, on which the minimum salary would be based. The median wage calculated by the Cyprus Statistical Service is lower than the one calculated by EU-SILC

Unions wanted the latter method used while employers’ organisations want the former, which was proposed by President Anastasiades at a presidential palace meeting a few weeks ago.