The Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou is set to mediate a joint meeting between trade unions and hoteliers this week, aiming to avert potential unrest in the hotel industry over the renewal of the sectoral collective agreement.
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday at the Ministry of Labour, follows a series of separate consultations held by Panayiotou with SEK and PEO hotel workers’ unions and hotel associations PASYXE and STEK, according to philenews sources.
The talks come amid disagreements over the renewal of the collective agreement, which expired last December. A previous mediation proposal by the Ministry’s Labour Relations Department was rejected by unions and met with reservations from employers.
Minister Panayiotou’s intervention seeks to prevent a deadlock in negotiations after unions warned of possible strike action. Both parties have agreed to intensify dialogue under the Minister’s mediation and observe a moratorium on public statements to facilitate the process.
At the same time, following the Minister’s proposal, both sides agreed to implement a moratorium on public statements to facilitate the entire process. This moratorium has been strictly observed, indicating the parties’ positive willingness to reach an agreement, which, however, remains challenging.
In this context, it is not excluded that the meeting on Thursday will continue the face-to-face negotiation to achieve further convergences, as some have already been achieved, leading the Labor Relations Department to submit its own mediation proposal.
It is noted that the proposal included, among other things, salary increases, the guarantee of the payment of the 13th salary to all sector personnel under certain conditions, and the renewal of the contract for five years, until the end of 2028.
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