THE LABOUR Ministry’s Mediating Services are scrambling for an initiative to find a resolution to the hotel industry crisis and avert a potentially crippling 48-hour hotel staff strike, which has been set for Monday.
Trade unions, however, have made it clear that the strike will definitely be going ahead after talks for the renewal of the collective agreement stalled.
They have also sent a letter to the Ministry, asking them to make sure that a 1991 agreement – under which foreign workers are not allowed to continue working during a strike – is not violated.
And they are up in arms over the threat by some hotels in Paphos to fire staff who go on strike.
The general secretary of PEO’s hotel staff union, Lefteris Georgiades, said the hoteliers’ behaviour was unacceptable and illegal, especially at a time when the Ministry Mediation Services’ initiative was under way.
He said staff felt disappointed and believed they had made enough compromises and sacrifices.
“In some hotels, hoteliers are threatening staff that if they take part in the strike on Monday, there will be dismissals and measures will be taken against them. This is unacceptable, unethical and illegal,” raged Georgiades.
“This attitude does not help the situation; on the contrary it worsens it and makes the discovery of a resolution to this situation harder; especially now that there is an initiative on the part of the Mediation Services.”
According to Georgiades, the Ministry is currently examining both sides’ positions, in an attempt to come out of the dead end that owners and employees have reached.
“The staff of this sector can’t be burdened with whatever difficulties may be taking place. They are feeling truly disappointed, because even though they have made sacrifices for the sector, this thing has been misinterpreted.”
His feelings were echoed by the SEK hotel staff union general secretary, Demetris Michael.
“They’re saying they will bring their families and make their wives work. Well, I don’t believe that they will leave their Gucci handbags behind and take off the Rolex watches to put their hands in the sink,” he said. “It’s tough to go into the sink and go into the bath and scrub it. This is the message we are sending.”
The workers, said Michael, are determined this time. “No more jokes. Until now we were very restrained in our announcements. We didn’t even want it to be heard that a strike was going to take place. If the hoteliers themselves don’t realise this and they push things towards strikes, why should we hide? When a dead end was reached, only our demands were on the table. We won’t discuss any of their demands.”
Michael went on to list the concessions he claimed staff had made over the last eight years.
“Two continuous days off were cancelled. On six-day weeks, where workers were compensated 1.5 [paid for a day and a half], this has been cancelled and workers are being paid 1.1.
“Pay for off days: they used to be paid 1.5 if they (employees) worked on their days off, now they are paid 1.1.
“The reduction of pay for new staff by 7.5 per cent, the reduction of pay for hotel school students by 15 per cent, the compensation of holidays reduced.
“In the past four years, employees only received two annual pay rises. These are all concessions made by the trade unions and the workers because of the difficulties that are faced by hoteliers every time they renew the collective agreement.”
Hotel workers are asking for a raise in salaries, an improvement of the 14th salary – which currently stands at 30 per cent of the base salary – and an expansion in the medical insurance programme.
They are also up in arms over hoteliers’ plans to reduce those holidays rewarded with double pay, from 15 to 10 days, as well as over efforts to scrap double pay for Sundays.
Hotel owners claim they are facing increasing costs and cannot afford the raise in salaries and benefits that unions are demanding.
