Bank employees give state handout

THE BANK employees union (ETYK) yesterday announced it would give €500,000 to the state in a bid to boost state coffers suffering from the recession.

The motion was put to ETYK’s 42nd conference that took place in Nicosia yesterday and was unanimously approved.

Speaking on behalf of President Demetris Christofias, Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous said the government’s priority is to support the sectors hit by the crisis and preserving the stability of the island’s financial system.

The government also aims in resetting the economy on a course of growth and tackling the fiscal problems while supporting employment and social coherence.

The minister reiterated that the state has taken a series of measures and is planning to put more in place to tackle the situation.

“The cornerstone of our efforts remains the principle that overcoming the problems necessitates collective efforts, socially balanced solutions and exhaustive dialogue through which all the economy’s components will assume their share of the responsibility,” Charalambous said.

The minister assured that the government will contribute in supporting employment and preserving jobs as part of the strategy to exit the recession.

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.