THE SEASON of bad will is here once again, with union bosses taking up battle positions now that sense the enemy to be at his most vulnerable. Apart from scorching temperatures the summer in Cyprus always seems to bring with it a rich variety of industrial disputes that often degenerate into strikes aimed at causing maximum inconvenience to the public. Some could claim that there is a direct connection between high temperatures and workers’ militancy, but the hypothesis does not stand up to closer examination.
The truth is that certain unions are in a much stronger position during the summer because it is the tourist season, and employers are therefore much more likely to give in to blackmail than at any other time of the year. It is no coincidence that almost every summer one or more of the Cyprus Airways unions threatens to go on strike, in the knowledge that any action would not just have a high cost for the company, but would also cause mayhem in the tourism industry on which the economy’s well-being depends. Wreaking havoc with the holiday plans of the local population further strengthens the position of the unions. In this way the airline’s management comes under additional pressure to give in to unreasonable demands.
Last summer it was the bank employees’ union, ETYK, which assumed the mantle of holiday-wrecker as it blackmailed the banks into giving in to the most absurd demands through work stoppages, a work-to-rule and strike threats. A closure of the banks at the height of the tourist season was something neither individuals nor companies could afford, and management therefore suffered the humiliation of giving in to the union diktats. Strange how it is always the ‘evil and greedy bosses’ who show a sense of social responsibility, accepting conditions that are against their business interests in order to limit the harm to the economy.
In contrast, the union bosses, well-versed in Machiavellian tactics, are more than happy to wreck the economy and cause misery to thousands of people in pursuit of their selfish aims.
This summer strike threats have been made by the secondary school teachers, all the Cyprus Airways unions, hotel-workers, and the university’s administrative staff. Nurses and oil refinery staff have also been in dispute with the authorities, but the timing is not of relevance. The CY unions had threatened a work stoppage in May, but agreed to postpone it until the government appointed a new board, which has now been given one month (until July 11) to agree a deal with the workers or face “dynamic action”. The teachers’ union OELMEK called off its measures on Thursday after the government gave in to its blackmail. OELMEK had threatened not to set, supervise or mark the university entrance exams that students are to sit this week if the government did not approve the creation of 90 new positions for teachers’ promotions. It was yet another fine example of the sense of responsibility that marks the behaviour of our public-spirited teachers, whose personal interests are always put above those of their students.
All disputes are resolved amicably as long as the employer gives in to the demands of the union. According to press reports on Friday, the Cyprus University admin staff were considering calling off their strike measures, as the government had agreed to submit a supplementary budget to the legislature before the summer recess, creating additional positions. Everything will depend on how many new positions will be opened. If the union is not satisfied and it strikes, there could be complete chaos when the university reopens at the beginning of September. Strange how the government appears to have given in just a week after the finance minister announced that no more positions would be created in the public sector.
In the end, the bill for industrial peace in the public sector is always footed by the taxpayer, while politicians endear themselves to the unions. In the private sector, in which the bottom line is viability, disputes often turn nasty. The two sides in the hotel industry are on a collision course, nowhere near to settling their differences. The workers have threatened to take action at the height of the tourist season, and last week the hoteliers responded by threatening a lock-out. This cannot be of benefit to either side, but it is an indication of the desperate position many hotels find themselves in. The hotel unions want their members to enjoy the same benefits as workers in the public sector and just cannot accept that hotels operating in the world market cannot increase their labour costs every single year and remain competitive.
Annual pay rises and additional benefits are not a worker’s right. This is a message that a responsible government that wants to ensure the good of the economy needs to get across to all workers, including its own. When hotel workers see the government being forced, by the mere threat of a strike, to give in to the teachers’ demands and create new jobs at the university despite its own declarations — and at a time when state has no money — they do not understand why they too should not get substantial pay rises.
Unless the government takes a tougher line with the public sector unions and sticks to it, the impending industrial unrest will not just remain a permanent feature of the hot months, it will spread as fast a summer blaze. It is better to have one summer during which people’s holidays are ruined and the tourism industry suffers than to be faced with annual union blackmail as soon as the temperatures hit the high 30s.
