ETYK makes new Hellenic threats, CEO sees no room for talks

By Stelios Orphanides

Bank workers union ETYK threatened to escalate industrial action at Hellenic Bank after asking members to refrain from overtime work at the lender, citing the bank’s decision to appoint managers without union approval, which prompted chief executive officer Bert Pijls to admit that chances for an agreement were slim.

“The determination demonstrated by universal adherence to the measure sent the proper messages in all directions and this stance will continue until the directors of Hellenic Bank respect staff, existing agreements and labour institutions,” the union said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

“Otherwise, measures will be escalated”.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.