Hotel strike looms

THE POSSIBILITY of a strike in the hotel industry yesterday appeared more imminent, with the workers’ unions Sek and Peo announcing that they would go ahead with industrial action following a ten-day warning period.

This followed threats on Friday by the Pancyprian Hoteliers’ Association, Pasyxe, that it would consider dismissing hotel employees if their unions did not make significant changes in their demands.

Hotel workers are asking for a renewal of the industry’s collective agreements, and have called on the hoteliers to “reverse their uncompromising tactics”. They have accused Pasyxe of promoting “mediaeval methods” in employer-employee relationships.

Barring any sort of compromise, the strike is expected to begin at the end of next week, and it could have adverse effects on the vital tourist industry – despite assurances to the contrary by Peo officials.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.