Civil servants back strikes if package altered

CIVIL servants and employees of the broader public sector yesterday voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, including possible strikes, should legislators tamper with a government austerity package that among other things envisions minor pay cuts.

PASYDY, the civil servants’ blanket union, said their vote was organised in order to authorise the union leadership to take a “dynamic response” if there are any deviations from the agreed economic package when it comes before the House plenum this Thursday.

Speaking to reporters last night, with the secret ballot still ongoing, PASYDY boss Glafcos Hadjipetrou said the vote had so far returned a 93 per cent result in favour of a proposal for possible industrial action.

Our View: Union bosses still permitted to hold economy hostage

THE GOVERNMENT’S first package of measures for the economy, which was presented to the House Finance Committee yesterday, was predictably disappointing, underlining the fact that the country remains hostage to union bosses.

It gave us a good illustration of how President Christofias actually views the consensus he has been using as an excuse for not taking the tough measures that would put public finances on a healthy footing and end the continuous downgrading of the economy. The emphasis was on raising state revenue through higher taxes, including a higher VAT that would lower the living standards of the lowest earners and the unemployed.

Government pledges second cuts’ package

THE GOVERNMENT will outline a second austerity package in parliament tomorrow, in an effort to stave off further credit ratings downgrades after its already high borrowing costs spiked at a sale of domestic bonds.

Scrambling to avoid becoming the fourth euro zone country to need bailing out, the authorities are putting together the outline of a new package to ensure that the first package, panned by opposition parties as insufficient, gets approved by parliament this Thursday.

Cypriots safe and sound in Libya

THE foreign ministry yesterday confirmed 26 Cypriots throughout Libya were safe as fighting between rebel and government soldiers broke out in Tripoli.

Around half of the Cypriot nationals, including consular staff, were in Tripoli as of yesterday while the remainder, who are mostly employees of Cypriot firms such as Pepsi and J&P construction, are in several cities around Libya.

Two Cypriot families permanently reside in the country.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s consular affairs and Schengen area crisis director Andreas Zenonos, there is a family of eight in Zawiya, two residents in Sirte, one in Tajura and one in Ubari.

Weekend fires destroy major tracts of land

EIGHT square kilometres of carob trees, olive trees, dry grass and wild vegetation were destroyed after two fires broke out over the weekend between the villages of Anogyra and Ayios Thoma in Limassol.

The fires, which also threatened houses and needed the deployment of five fire fighting helicopters, started from a landfill site in Anogyra. Locals suspect the blazes might have been caused by hunters who had camped in the area a few days ago.

Fire Service Spokeswoman Lisa Kemidji said yesterday that a small fire broke out on Friday around 9pm between Anogyra and Ayios Thomas, while on Saturday a larger fire in the same area threatened houses.

Serious injury as hunting season opens

The hunting season got off to a flying start on Sunday with a 76 per cent increase in woodpigeons killed and marginally fewer turtledoves.

One hunter was also seriously injured after accidently shooting himself.

According to the Game Fund, hunters took home an average of around 0.9 pigeons each, compared with 0.5 last year and 0.7 the year before.

In contrast, the average number of turtledoves killed by each hunter fell from 0.33 in 2010 to 0.3this year.

Although it is now open season for quail, the game fund did not release any figures and according to the game fund, few have arrived on the island.

The opening day of the season also saw several hunters nabbed for various transgressions:

FM permanent secretary withdraws from Cyprus talks

FOREIGN Ministry Permanent Secretary Nicos Emiliou, who is under investigation for his alleged involvement in fabricating an internal memo regarding last month’s naval base explosion, yesterday confirmed he had withdrawn from the Cyprus problem negotiation talks.

Emiliou announced he had informed President Demetris Christofias in writing of his decision to step down from his place at the ongoing talks last Friday.

The permanent secretary’s decision was taken on the same day the Cabinet announced he and three of his subordinates were under investigation for possible “serious disciplinary offences”.

Israeli energy talks ‘very serious’

FOREIGN Minister Erato Kozakou Markoullis flies to Israel tomorrow for talks that will include energy collaboration between the two nations but also the recent Turkish threats over Cyprus’ bid for offshore hydrocarbon exploration.

Markoullis said the trip’s agenda would include discussion of exploratory drilling in Block 12, a natural gas prospect within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The visit is taking place at the invitation of Markoullis’ Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman.

Markoullis described the upcoming talks with Israeli officials as “very serious”, but declined any comment as to their expected outcome.

The end of the energy scramble

THE ELECTRICITY Authority (EAC) will be connecting the last set of generators it is expecting by the end of August seeing off the immediate scramble for energy following the devastating July 11 naval base blast.

The first set of generators from the American company Energy International with a 60MW capacity arrived in Cyprus on Sunday and will be hooked up to Dhekelia Power Station.

The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) is expecting this week 35MW capacity generators from the company which will be fitted at Moni Power Station.

Energy International had won the tenders’ proposals to provide temporary generators to the island.

Probe witnesses may refuse to answer questions

INDEPENDENT investigator Polys Polyviou will next week begin public hearings as part of his ongoing inquiry into last month’s munitions explosion at the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Mari.

Although the number of people who will finally testify before the investigator could not yesterday be confirmed, the procedure is expected to involve several senior level officials.

According to reports the entire process will help clear or incriminate names. For example former National Guard chief Constantinos Bisbikas is said to have informed Polyviou through his lawyer that he was available to testify.