LABOUR MINISTER Sotiroula Charalambous yesterday said she was expecting a positive response from the management and unions of Cyprus Airways (CY) to her ministry’s compromise proposal to stop the ailing state carrier from going bankrupt.
The proposal, which hopes to improve CY’s viability, was submitted to management and unions late on Friday and the minister said they had until Wednesday to offer their replies.
“We have offered a proposal; the proposal is balanced, it is a proposal that responds to all the concerns that were posed during discussions at the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and interpreting the positive climate I saw at (Friday’s) meeting, I feel that by Wednesday, which is the deadline I have given for them to respond, we will have some positive answers,” said Charalambous.
“We have offered a package that includes the workers’ contributions, as well as the compensation plans for those who will be deemed redundant,” said Charalambous.
Even though the minister avoided giving numbers and figures, the head of CY union SYNIKA, Andreas Pierides, yesterday confirmed CY workers were being asked to contribute nine per cent and staff abroad 10 per cent to the airline’s recovery plan.
He said these contributions would apply for one year and would not be taken from the 13th salary, while the plan also suggests voluntary retirement for 140 workers.
Pierides said parliament should waste no time in approving the €20 million fund the government intends to offer CY and that if it isn’t released by the end of the month, CY would face some serious liquidity problems.
Meanwhile, the liquidator of Eurocypria (ECA), Chris Iacovides, has voiced his determination to seek part of the €20 million the government intends to inject into CY as compensation for damages incurred due to the Turkish ban on the airline using its airspace.
Speaking to the CyBC yesterday, Iacovides reasoned that it wasn’t only CY that suffered losses due to the Turkish embargo but Eurocypria too; a fact, he said, which had been recognised by the EU.
Therefore, he added, if compensation was to be given out, ECA would seek what it is entitled to.
“I have already sent letters to the Ministers of Finance, Commerce and Communications asking for specifications; I have had no answers so far,” said Iacovides, who also announced that some buyers were interested in the bankrupt airline and more news on the matter would be announced by the end of this month.
In the event that his demand is not satisfied, Iacovides said he would not hesitate to take the matter to the EU.
But Minister Charalambous said the compromise proposal was drawn up taking everyone’s sensitivities into account.
“I am pleased to see a will by all implicated parties to save the national airline,” said Charalambous, who said the ministry’s proposal included a provision for the company to report on a three-monthly basis on how the recovery procedure is going.
