THE political leadership will meet with President Demetris Christofias today to discuss measures for the economy, as a showdown seems unavoidable with unions who say they are being sidelined and have warned against any decisions without dialogue.
Politicians on the other hand stress the urgency of the matter if Cyprus wants to restore the confidence of international markets and avoid Greece-like effects.
“We care about the country and we are ready to make sacrifices,” said Glafkos Hadjipetrou, boss of PASYDY, the civil servants umbrella union. “But our plea to everyone is to also respect the role of the unions — the responsibility they have shown all these years – and not resort to unilateral actions either through approving measures or blackmail or very tight timeframes.”
Hadjipetrou claimed some want to eliminate all the rights won by state workers in recent decades with the ultimate objective of going after the private sector afterwards.
“We are saddened by this behaviour; we want understanding, we want a real dialogue, but labour issues should be left to those who are authorised,” Hadjipetrou said.
He said PASYDY is not prepared to accept workers lose their rights at the stroke of a pen or by passing a law.
In a statement issued yesterday, PASYDY, along with the two other unions that represent the bulk of state workers, PEO and SEK, stressed that they recognised the seriousness of the situation and the need to implement the necessary measures but there was also a need to safeguard institutions and procedures.
But politicians and businesses stressed that measures should be put in place urgently to avoid further downgrades of the economy with all the dire effects it would bring.
Government partner DIKO vice chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos said the outcome of today’s meeting should be that dialogue with the unions will conclude in the next few days and measures submitted to parliament for approval.
Speaking on a morning news show on private Sigma TV, Papadopoulos said people must realise that the “rules have changed,” and there was no time for endless dialogues.
“This is the time we need to move,” Papadopoulos said.
He said this was not a threat but a warning to workers that if Cyprus did not move fast to roll out some measures at least to convince international markets, things will get much worse.
DISY spokesman Haris Georgiades warned that if Cyprus comes to the point of seeking a bailout the effects for the island will dire.
He said this could be prevented by urgently passing measures to restore the markets’ confidence.
AKEL recognised that the economy has structural problems that need to be resolved but said the immediate problem lied with the international markets.
Spokesman Stavros Evagorou said there are problems but Cyprus was not on the edge of the cliff as some suggested.
He said there were distortions, privileges and even mentalities that needed to change but this could not be done by force.
