Deal close on CY pay rises

CYPRUS Airways (CY) is likely to sign a deal shortly with its unions for pay rises and other benefits designed to guarantee four years of industrial peace.

Yesterday, CY management met with all of its unions to finalise the details for the renewal of collective agreements, which airline sources say are close to the signature stage.

The deal being discussed will bring a 4.5 per cent pay rise and other benefits to cabin crew, administrative and other staff as well as engineers.

Pilots may ask for a similar deal later on, the sources said.

"Everything is going well," the sources said, adding it was hoped the agreement would be signed before the end of the week.

The renewal of the collective agreements comes just in time for the start of the busy summer tourist season on April 1.

Last year’s season was marred by strikes by pilots and other industrial unrest within the company.

On Monday, CY announced preliminary group pre-tax profits for 1999 of £8.8 million, down from a record £10 million in 1998.

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.