UNDER squeeze from trade unions and facing the spectre of a protracted disruption of operations, loss-making KEO yesterday put on the table an improved package as part of planned employee redundancies.
The offer came following “intense negotiations” between company management and unionists representing the some full-time 530 staff. KEO workers meet today to discuss the proposal and take a vote.
Union reps involved in the negotiations told the Cyprus Mail the company is now willing to give €2.5 million in compensation, and has agreed to shed 120 of its workforce, compared to 150 previously.
The beverage maker has also accepted on principle a demand for voluntary redundancies, although on this point the company has the final word.
But as part of the deal, the remaining workers must agree to a wage freeze for the next year and to reduced pay increments for two years thereafter – or €750,000 less in their pockets.
On balance, the new offer is “about €1 million better than the previous one”, said Charalambos Pratsis, of the left-wing trade union PEO.
“It’s not what we wanted,” he added. “KEO’s management made it clear, however, that they won’t go any higher. It’s their red line, they told us.”
The KEO workers’ strike, which began last week after the company announced the imminent dismissal of around 75 staff, would continue until the two sides reach agreement, Pratsis said.
SEK union rep Neofytos Constantinou said the company’s planned restructuring would affect jobs in all departments except for water bottling.
KEO says it needs to slash its workforce in order to maintain efficiency and remain economically viable.
For the last two years it has been operating at a loss and its turnover has been in decline.
The figure pitched yesterday by the company – €2.5 million – happens to be the same as that proposed days ago by the Labour Ministry’s mediation service.
That number was already €1.8 million more than management was prepared to give last week. With the unions meanwhile pushing for €5.2 million in compensation, chances for a deal looked slim to none.
The climate at the factory worsened last Wednesday when striking workers prevented company officals from entering the premises.
Since the standoff, no notices of redundancy have actually been sent out.
Even yesterday’s talks looked doomed initially, with unionists walking out and announcing to employees that they had just rejected an offer from the company. Minutes later, managers asked the unionists back inside for a second attempt, which produced the €2.5 million offer.
Meanwhile politicians were doing their bit to support the workers’ cause. Several Limassol MPs from various parties met with Archbishop Chrysostomos in Nicosia, presumably to ask the Prelate to intercede.
The Church of Cyprus has a controlling interest in KEO. In 2009 the wine and beer maker employed some 570 people. Back in 2003, before business took a hit, it had 800 workers, making it the largest industrial employer on the island.
A household name, KEO started off as a company producing wine in the Limassol district. In 1951 it ventured into beer production by importing expertise from Czechoslovakia. Its product range has since expanded to include dessert wines (e.g. Commandaria), bottled water, brandy, spirits (including zivania), juices and canned food.
