By the end of January, Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous had intensive meetings with both the unions and the employers’ federation in an effort to avert widespread strikes. Her initiative was conducted amid an ongoing 24-hour strike by porters and dock workers at the Limassol and Larnaca ports. Construction workers and employees of soft drink companies have also announced 24-hour warning strikes for early February. The suggestion of the OEV employers' federation for a unilateral two-year wage freeze and other cutbacks in the private sector was met by staunch disapproval of the unions. The minister, a former union official herself, is expected to play a key role in mediating a deal between the two sides.
English: http://www.cyprus-mail.com/strikes/looming-threat-wider-strike-action ...;
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/ports-be-paralysed-new-strike/20120125
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl or the communications officer of the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2012.