An improved proposal compared to the previous meeting was presented to the unions today, as stated by Finance Minister Makis Keravnos as he left the meeting between President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and the trade unions OEKDY-SEK, PASYEK, PEO, DEE-KDOKO, and DEOK. The meeting took place today at the Presidential Palace, with the Minister of Finance in attendance.
As Mr. Keravnos stated in his remarks, “the Government understands the demands,” noting that there was a proposal “improved compared to our previous meeting,” which will be submitted to the relevant bodies of the labor unions. “I hope and pray that we will reach a conclusion,” he said.
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Mr. Keravnos declined to comment on the content of the proposal or whether there would be wage increases.
When asked whether there had been any indications from the labor side regarding the proposal, the Minister limited himself to stating that “All I can say is that our cooperation, over time, has been excellent and based on mutual understanding.”
When asked which institution would be responsible for resolving the labor dispute in the event of an impasse at the Presidential Palace as well, the Minister stated that “When there are differences, the discussion continues. I believe we have a tradition in this country of engaging in dialogue with the social partners. This government supports and strengthens social dialogue, and that is what we will do,” he said.
The final word goes to the workers
The labor unions expressed the view that the proposal before them has been improved. Stavros Andreou, Secretary-General of PASYEK – PEO, said that the meeting with the President of the Republic was constructive and that they would present the proposal at a general assembly to discuss “the next steps we will take as a labor movement.”
When asked how satisfied they are with the proposal, Mr. Andreou said that it is a proposal that is clearly an improvement over previous ones, adding that “we feel comfortable putting it before the workers for discussion.” As he said, “to a certain extent, it meets the workers’ demands.” He also stated that “since we are presenting it to the workers, I personally, at least, feel comfortable presenting it to them,” adding that “if we had rejected it from the start, we wouldn’t have presented it to the employees in the first place. So we believe that, by discussing it with the employees, we can achieve a good outcome.”
For his part, George Konstantinou, Secretary General of OEKDY SEK, stated that “we have been presented with a new, improved proposal compared to what had been put forward previously.” He added that it will be presented to the workers’ representatives in the coming days, clarifying that a date has not yet been set “to decide on the next steps.” When asked about their own views on the proposal, Mr. Konstantinou stated that “we will present it to the employees, and a decision will be made on that specific day.”
Andreas Antoniou, Secretary-General of the DEE KDOKO DEOK, stated that since we now have a more improved proposal, we believe we can take it to the relevant bodies so that the procedures can move forward, and we can, of course, support it if we do take it forward.” He added that “the procedures are in place; they are democratic, and there will be a discussion so that we can reach a conclusion. The outcome resulting from the movement’s procedures will also be respected,” he said. When asked whether the proposal was close to the 8% they had requested, he stated that “since we are now in a process that we want to succeed, I think we must respect the process, because the goal is to reach a conclusion and for everyone to be satisfied.”
Source: CNA
