THE GOVERNMENT is not going to wait for Cyprus Airways (CY) unions to accept or reject a controversial plan to save the airline, and will decide its future today, President Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday.
CY’s five unions were to give their response to the final version rescue plan by yesterday but four of them received an extension until Wednesday. Only the engineers union ASYSEKA has said ‘yes’ so far.’
But in a strongly-worded statement yesterday Papadopoulos said the cabinet meeting to decide the future of the state-owned carrier would be held today irrespective.
He said not one comma will be changed in the plan and that his cabinet could not be expected to sit around waiting for the unions.
A ministerial meeting of four was held last night to evaluate the situation ahead of today’s meeting, which will discuss the plan, and also the alternatives in the event that the government runs into trouble from the unions.
The primary Plan B is for the government to purchase CY’s low-cost charter subsidiary Eurocypria as a replacement if worse comes to worst and CY has to close.
“The government will decide tomorrow (Saturday) for the future of Cyprus Airways on the basis that nothing will be changed in the rescue plan,” said Papadopoulos. “I cannot call the ministers to a meeting tomorrow and then wait until Wednesday for the unions to decide. We will take our decisions.”
He said Cyprus could not remain without air links and that alternative plans existed in the event the unions reject the rescue package.
“From the plan that was given, not comma will be changed,” Papadopoulos said, adding that if anyone thought they had been given promises to the contrary, they were mistaken as any such promise were outside of any authorisations give by the cabinet. “The plan stays as it is,” he said.
Expanding on the President’s statements, Transport Minister Haris Thrasou told the Cyprus Mail he did not want to guess what would happen today.
“It was made clear to the unions that this was the final plan. All they were offered were clarifications and this is what they got. What we expect from them is a final answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We are not going to negotiate again. There will be no changes to the final plan,” he said.
Thrasou said the government would only go to Plan B if one of the unions proceeded to strike action that would lead to the closure of the company. “Financially the company cannot sustain a strike,” he said adding that in recent months, the airline has been losing two to three million pounds a month.
Pilots union PASIPY was surprised at the statements made by Papadopoulos.
“I can understand his frustration but only one of the unions has given its answer,” said PASIPY chairman Polis Economou.
“How can I give an answer without asking my members. Most of them are abroad now. If he goes ahead with the plan, I understand but I’m not going to negotiate with a gun to my head. If they want to jeopardise the economy of this country then there is nothing we can do about it.”
PASIPY is due to have its general assembly on Wednesday morning and will give its final answer in the afternoon.
Economu said his union would have to wait and see what comes out of the cabinet meeting today before deciding what it would do but he was peeved that the government didn’t wait the few extra days.
“When he (Papadopoulos) was asked to give an answer to the Annan plan, he took his time and I’m going to take mine,” Economou said. “I think he should have more important things to do than to make statements or than worry about what the unions will answer to Cyprus Airways, which is a public company by the way. I think he and his ministers will be flying the aeroplanes.”
CY’s biggest union CYNIKA said earlier yesterday the airline’s staff were being asked to make a lot of sacrifices and that it was not an easy decision to take in a short time.
“This is supposed to be a joint effort to save the company but from where we are standing it seems to be a one way street,” said union president Costas Demetriou.
CY chairman Lazaros Savvides told the Cyprus Mail last night that he could not comment on the statements by the President.
“If the President has stated certain things, it’s a fact, and from then on we have to follow what the government actually decides,” he said.
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