House vetoes civil servant wage-cut

A GOVERNMENT proposal to lower entry-level wages for civil servants has been rejected by the House of Representatives.

The proposal, which would have led to a 10 per cent drop in starting salaries for new civil servants, was agreed to by the Civil Servants’ Union (PASYDY) and the government in February last year.

Reports estimate that personal expenses, wages, pensions and bonuses for civil servants in 2003 will cost the state £860 million, which amounts to 27.9 per cent of total state expenses for the year.

The House’s rejection of the agreement last Thursday was condemned by the government Trade and Industry Chamber (KEVE), which considers a wage reduction essential for the state’s finances.

“We did sign an agreement but the House of Representatives had a different opinion,” Glafcos Hadjidemetriou, Secretary General of PASYDY told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

Asked if PASYDY was pleased at the defeat of the agreement he said,

“I can’t say whether we are happy or not at this outcome. We have to accept the House’s decision whatever our feelings are.”

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.