CY union approves ministry compromise proposal

THE LARGEST Cyprus Airways (CY) union CYNIKA yesterday approved by an overwhelming majority a mediation proposal by the Labour Ministry that will see wage increases reinstated after a four-year freeze.

The compromise proposal was approved by 90 per cent of CYNIKA’s members at a general assembly in Nicosia.

CYNIKA president Andreas Pierides said the proposal included a wage increase of six per cent, which is aimed at making up salary cuts staff endured since 2004 when a restructuring plan by the company instituted a wage freeze.

“We will inform the Ministry of Labour on the decision and we expect that the board of Cyprus Airways will endorse the agreement, which will guarantee industrial peace in the airline,” said Pierides.

The restructuring plan called for a five-year freeze, or until the ailing national carrier has been profitable for two consecutive years. The airline showed a small profit in 2007 but results for 2008 are still unclear given the heavy fuel bill the airline must face this year.

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.