Bus drivers to strike over wages

STAFF at Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca bus companies have announced an indefinite strike starting tomorrow because they have not been paid their January wages.

The strike will start at 5am.

Personnel unions PEO and SEK said they had no other choice as the company’s action was a “blatant violation of the workers’ basic right, which was non-negotiable.”

The companies say they cannot pay their staff because the government has not paid them the agreed subsidies.

Communications Minister Efthimios Flourentzos said the state had transferred cash into the companies’ accounts, which was more than enough to pay their obligations towards the drivers.

The minister suggested the companies were using strikes as leverage to get what they want.

The two sides appear to disagree on the amount the state must pay the bus companies.

At the same time, SEK and PEO have also announced strikes in hotels which will not pay the cost of living allowance (CoLA) to staff.

The unions said measures will remain in place until CoLA was paid but noted that this concerned the minority of hotels.

Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous is currently mediating in a bid to resolve the CoLA matter.

 

 

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