Coronavirus: Trade unions reject talk of staggered 13th salaries

Trade unions have moved to quash talk of a possible delay or suspension of payment of the 13th salary this December, despite the financial strain on employers due to declining turnover and revenues brought about by the coronavirus restrictions.

Marios Tsiakkis, general-secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told online news outlet Stockwatch that – although by law the 13th salary is an integral part of employees’ wages – due to the current extenuating circumstances employers and syndicates should consider alternative arrangements.

This could mean that the 13th salary be paid in instalments, rather than in full at one go as per normal arrangements.

And Michalis Antoniou, head of the Employers and Industrialists Federation, likewise suggested that businesses and trade unions can perhaps find some middle ground on the issue.

The syndicates were having none of it.

Andreas Matsas, head of the SEK trade union, told Stockwatch that the law on the 13th salary is explicit.

“It [the 13th salary] is a worker’s right, and its normal payment will also boost consumption amid the pandemic,” he said.

He recalled recent statements by the ministers of labour and finance, saying that no reductions in benefits must take place during the coronavirus situation.

In the same vein, Pambis Kiritsis of the left-leaning PEO trade union, noted that adherence to collective agreements is not optional.

“We anticipate that, as in other times of crisis, some employers will invoke difficulties and exercise pressure. We shall deal decisively with any such arbitrary moves,” he vowed.