A cross-union meeting on CoLA (cost-of-living allowance) has been set for Wednesday, 24 September, at 10:00 at SEK headquarters. Speaking to CNA, SEK (Cyprus Workers’ Confederation) secretary-general Andreas Matsas said unions will brief one another on developments and assess the situation. Asked whether measures might be extended, he left the door open: “It is possible decisions will be taken that lead to an extension or escalation of measures.”
No new invitation from the ministry
Matsas noted that, so far, unions have not received a new invitation from the Ministry of Labour for talks on CoLA. One meeting took place last week and a second had been expected. “As things are evolving, the process is getting more difficult. If we receive an invitation from the minister, we will respond,” he said.
Employers move to coordinate
On the employers’ side, a joint meeting of the executive committees of the Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB) and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI/KEBE) has been scheduled for 2 October. OEB director-general Michalis Antoniou avoided the term “pan-employer” meeting, saying it evokes “a war-like atmosphere that does not reflect either organisation’s intentions or mode of operation.” He said leaders at the highest level judged a joint session necessary “for better coordination, mutual briefing and decisions in principle on key issues facing the business community,” noting there are already converging approaches.
While CoLA tops the agenda given its immediacy, Antoniou said tax reform and pension reform would also be discussed, issues he described as “fundamental” for doing business. The joint session will take the form of a combined meeting of the two organisations’ executive committees. He could not recall a similar format in the past but said he would propose institutionalising such meetings once or twice a year.
Employers’ red lines and parameters
Antoniou told CNA the employers’ side has not received a new ministry invitation either, but stressed that the notion of “CoLA for all” is off the table for OEB and CCCI. Out of courtesy and respect for institutions, he added, “we have never declined a meeting when invited,” yet both organisations remain committed to their red line on universal CoLA.
On other elements of the labour ministry’s outline, graduated application, linkage to competitiveness, and inflation safeguards, Antoniou said employers have spent recent months running simulations, formulas and models, adjusting variables to keep the overall burden within existing commitments and levels. “We believe that is where the solution lies for our objectives,” he said, while acknowledging that once figures are pinned down “we may have disagreements with our partners.”
A structural competitiveness concern, but room for convergence
The employers’ position on CoLA is unchanged, Antoniou said: it is a structural distortion that harms competitiveness in open economies, an assessment he called “documented, proven and adopted by almost all European states.” Rationalising the system for those who already apply it, he argued, cannot be used as a pretext to expand what he considers a pathology to a wider group.
Even so, Antoniou expressed optimism about finding common ground among the social partners, adding that employers are extending a hand to all sides, trade unions and government, to work towards a balanced, sustainable arrangement.
CNA sourced reporting
