Cyprus’s two main employer organisations have agreed to a revised framework for automatic cost of living adjustments (COLA/ATA), signalling a potential breakthrough in the long-running dispute.
KEVE and OEB have accepted the new terms, according to reports, ahead of a crucial meeting on Tuesday afternoon where the four trade union organisations involved in the dialogue will assess developments and determine their next steps.
The unions will meet at SEK headquarters.
Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said he expects a positive outcome on COLA “very soon” following Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace.
“I think this process will have a positive outcome very soon,” Keravnos told reporters, basing his assessment on “the logic prevailing amongst the social partners and trade unions and the employer side that none of us should allow things to have unpleasant developments.”
He added that at a time when the economy is on a good trajectory and there is a shortage of human resources, logic will prevail and there will be a very good result soon.
Asked whether the government has drafted a new proposal, Keravnos said the proposal exists in the form of an acceptable framework and consultations are taking place on that basis. “Some marginal adjustments are possible, which is why consultations are happening,” he explained.
Responding to comments by SEK General Secretary Andreas Matsas that tax incentives should not be given as part of tax reform if the COLA issue remains unresolved, Keravnos stressed that tax incentives are not being given to employers and that the government is willing to provide incentives so more employers adopt COLA, bringing more workers under the COLA system, which is the government’s goal.
The minister said the effort to reach agreement on COLA is also part of the government’s stated policy of strengthening incomes, particularly for vulnerable and low-paid citizens.
(philenews/CNA)
