EAC calls strike over gas dispute

EMPLOYEES at the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) have retaliated at a government decision to invite tenders for a floating Liquefied Natural Gas terminal, announcing a 24-hour stoppage for next Wednesday.
This week the Cabinet gave the green light to speed up the creation of a land-based LNG facility, while at the same time opening a competition to set up an offshore unit for a period of five years.

The state-run electricity utility is against a floating storage unit for LNG. It argues the technology is untested, potentially unreliable, and could result in wasting millions of taxpayers’ money.

It is championing a land-based liquefaction facility, but the government says that won’t be ready before 2013 or even 2014. In the meantime, Cypriot consumers will continue paying for the far more expensive diesel fuel.
Commentators say the EAC fears losing its status as the primary buyer and processor of fuel on the island.

Tensions between Trade Minister Antonis Michaelides – the man spearheading the offshore facility idea – and the EAC have been steadily worsening, particularly after Michaelides told the EAC board they should quit if they disagreed with government policy.
As a semi-governmental organisation, the EAC is expected to follow general policy guidelines from the government. Its board of directors is appointed on the recommendation of the President.

In a statement released yesterday, the four main EAC unions said Wednesday’s walkout should not disrupt electricity supply. The EAC’s production department would operate on skeleton staff, while support and maintenance crews would remain on standby in case of any glitches in the grid.

However, the unions threatened to “escalate” their measures on 27 June, when they plan to stage a full-blown stoppage that would result in power cuts.
The strike would proceed unless the government backed down, the statement said.
“We urge those in charge to assume their responsibilities,” it added.

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.