Collective agreement ends port dispute

THE DISAGREEMENT between the Port Authority and its employees on the terms of the collective agreement has finally come to an end, eliminating the future risk of strikes at Limassol Port.

The agreement was reached on Wednesday, following a meeting between the Port Authority and the six trade union organisations representing Port staff, officials said yesterday.

“Since yesterday, we have agreed with the trade unions and we will be signing a collective agreement covering 2004 and 2006 and at the same time, a new collective agreement covering 2006 and 2009,” said Chrysis Prentzas, President of the Port Authority.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Prentzas presented the written approval of the Minister of Finance for the preliminary agreement that had been reached between the Port Authority and the unions. He also assured union representatives that the agreement would be enforced through a supplementary budget that the Port Authority would bring before Parliament in March.

“This is a fact that proves the Port Authority’s credibility towards its partners – a credibility that ensures the best and optimal co-operations. We are going through a period during which we must take advantage of the challenges that arise because of our EU entry. A basic problem that we used to face in the past that concerned labour peace and stability has now been solved,” Prentzas added.

Presidential candidate Ioannis Kassoulides yesterday paid a visit to Limassol Port as part of his election campaign. He met with the Port Authority to discuss its future plans.

“What we are interested in is for this era to see a rise in international commerce, for our ports to be competitive and be able to take advantage of our geographic position so that Cyprus’ economy is helped,” Kassoulides said.

Meanwhile, at the general meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Association, scheduled for today, the issues facing Cyprus’ nautical industry will be discussed. The meeting will be addressed by the Minister of Transport Maria Malaktou-Babali, the President of the Port Authority Chrysis Prentzas, and representatives of PEO and SEK trade unions.

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