CYPRIOT workers whose wages are collectively agreed, saw them increase by only 2.5 per cent in 2008, the second lowest in the EU and an actual drop in real terms, new research revealed yesterday.
The research also revealed that Cyprus has the worst gender pay gap in the bloc, and that there is a lack of trust in employees.
As far as wages were concerned, the lowest increases were recorded in Malta with 1.8 per cent, followed by Cyprus and Denmark, both with 2.5 per cent, and Germany at 2.9 per cent.
When set against the 2008 inflation figure of 4.4 per cent, the increase recorded in Cyprus represented a wage decrease in real terms. High wage increases of between 15.9 per cent and 23.8 per cent were recorded in former Eastern bloc countries such as Romania and Lativa.
The new research was presented yesterday by European Union agency Eurofound, a Dublin-based EU agency responsible for providing European social policy-makers with findings, analysis and recommendations drawn from comparative research.
It found that the rate of increase in collectively agreed nominal wage increases – those not adjusted against inflation – rose in 16 EU countries between 2007 and 2008, and fell in 11.
Eurofound Director Dr Jorma Karppinen said that the figures should be seen in each country’s context. For example: “In Latvia, nominal wages may have gone up by 23 per cent last year, but now wages are going down by 20 per cent or more, as Latvia borrows billions of euros from the IMF to try to stabilise its economy” he said.
Similarly, low collective wage agreements in Germany were reached last year against a backdrop of widespread industrial unrest and the impact of the world crisis.
An important area in which Cyprus lags behind its EU partners, also highlighted by Eurofound yesterday, is equal pay for male and female workers. Androulla Kaminara, Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, said that Cyprus has an above-average number of women working, “but when it comes to the pay gap, it is one of the worst in Europe.”
In 2008, women were paid an average of 17.4 per cent less per hour than men across the EU, but Cyprus had the biggest gap of all, at 24 per cent, she said.
As for what needs to change in Cyprus, Karppinen said trust was an issue. Out of all EU citizens, Cypriots show the least trust in other people. He said: “Having flexibility in working life means probably having to trust your work colleagues.”
Dr Stavroulla Demetriades, Eurofound’s Head of Industrial Relations and Workplace Developments, added that this usually boils down to “do you work as hard as me in my absence?”, or “will you try to steal my job?”
The delegation from Eurofound is on a three-day visit to Cyprus. During the visit, it will present findings from Eurofound’s new research on wage development, as well as research on working time and flexibility, to representatives from the Cyprus government, trade unions and employers’ organisations in Nicosia.
The delegation will also meet Labour Minister Sotiroula Charalambous, as well as representatives from trade unions SEK, PEO, PASYDY, DEOK, TURKSEN, DEVIS and KTAMS, and employers’ organisation OEB.
One way being promoted by the EU to possibly mitigate the impact of the economic crisis is working time flexibility or flexitime arrangements. Currently, fewer than one in six workers, or some 17 per cent in Cyprus, “probably the lowest in the EU” according to Karppinen – have access to working time flexibility or flexitime arrangements, involving fewer than 30 per cent of companies or establishments. This situation is quite similar across the southern part of the EU, and contrasts with northern Europe – especially Sweden, Finland and Latvia – where two-thirds of all establishments are involved.
Karppinen said that Eurofound’s research “shows that flexible work arrangements are good for both employers and workers”. Companies can aim for greater cost effectiveness in relation to seasonality or shorter-term demand, while workers can accommodate personal responsibilities such as caring for children, elderly or disabled family members. Sometimes flexible working can be the bridge for a transition from full-time to part-time work, or vice versa.
