Under pressure from several days of strike action by Turkish Cypriot trade unions, the “government” in the north has withdrawn a “decree with the force of law” that provided for cuts to the cost-of-living allowance (COLA).
From the outset, unions had made clear that they would not enter into dialogue unless the decree was withdrawn, setting this as a key precondition for easing tensions surrounding the COLA issue.
One of the unions’ demands is that the “bill” concerning COLA be examined by a “parliamentary committee”. However, according to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press, the “government” plans to submit its new proposal directly to the “plenary of the parliament”.
Coffin carried outside ‘parliament’
For yet another day, public sector unions staged strike actions and called for a gathering in occupied Nicosia. Attention once again centred outside the “parliament”, where heightened security measures had been put in place around the building early in the morning as protesters arrived.
Despite the presence of police forces, demonstrators managed to approach the entrance of the building without facing substantial resistance.
During the mobilisation, protesters carried a “coffin”, which they said symbolised the “government”. They then marched towards the “parliament” building, escorted by “police”.
Protesters were able to pass a second checkpoint, while according to the same reports, security measures appeared more relaxed compared with previous days.
Accusations of broken promises
During the gathering, the president of the KAMUSEN union, Metin Atan, launched a strong attack against the “government”, accusing it of breaking its promises and demanding the immediate withdrawal of the decree.
He said the issue should be re-examined in a technical committee and warned that reactions would intensify if this did not happen. He also referred to an appeal filed with the “supreme court”, noting that the legal process is already underway.
“Society has lost trust in the government”
According to the Turkish Cypriot press, the president of the Türk-Sen union, Arslan Bıçaklı, speaking at yesterday’s mobilisation on behalf of the unions, said that “society has lost its trust in the government”, stressing that “we will continue our mobilisations in the parliament until this law is withdrawn”.
He added that at 09:00 union members would once again gather outside the “parliament”, while “operations at public hospitals will be suspended, except for the most urgent cases”.
He also warned that if there is no response from the “government”, “there will be other surprises”.