Delivery workers in Cyprus are set to benefit from improved employment conditions after the first collective agreement regulating the profession was agreed upon on July 4.
The agreement will cover around 3,000 people working in the sector.
According to philenews sources, the preliminary agreement will cover employees of fleet management companies and the operating platforms that directly employ staff.
It is the outcome of lengthy negotiations between trade unions, fleet management companies, the Wolt delivery service and the Ministry of Labour which were sparked by a strike in December 2022.
The Department of Labour Relations was engaged in the negotiations, alongside the unions SYXKA-PEO and OMEPEGE-SEK.
According to SYXKA-PEO, the preliminary agreement will be presented to the unions’ governing bodies for approval and is expected to come into effect from 1 August 2024.
Key terms of the agreement and future discussions
The sectoral agreement encompasses various aspects, including working hours, salaries, and other benefits for delivery workers.
According to philenews sources, each delivery worker will receive a minimum wage of €950 upon hiring, increasing to €1,050 after six months with the same employer. These minimum wages are slightly higher than the national minimum, which stands at €900 upon hiring and increases to €1,000 after six months.
The cost-of-living allowance is included in these wages, and from 1 January 2025 onwards, it will be adjusted based on the prevailing Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) agreement. Working hours are set at 40 hours per week, and for a six-day workweek, these hours should be distributed across six days.
Employees will be entitled to annual leave as per legislation and 15 public holidays with full pay, chosen from a mutually agreed-upon list. If required to work on a public holiday, they will be compensated with an additional two-tenths of their hourly rate per hour worked.
Additional agreed-upon benefits include the provision of specific equipment to delivery workers at the employer’s expense and the establishment of a welfare, aid, and incentives fund for staff, to which the employer will initially contribute 0.25% of each staff member’s total salary.
Further negotiations will address the payment of a 13th-month salary and the exact method of overtime compensation for delivery workers.
Union and industry statements
Both SYXKA-PEO and OMEPEGE-SEK confirmed the successful conclusion of the negotiations.
PEO, in its announcement, stated that the agreement is effective for two years and lays “the foundations for a comprehensive regulation of the workers’ terms of employment in the sector.”
Wolt, a company in the sector, welcomed the agreement, stating that it participated in the discussions while not being a direct contracting party.
IWW’s initial assessment
The Industrial Workers of the World‘s Cyprus branch (IWW), however, stated in an announcement that even though this agreement is “very good news”, it is not clear whether workers’ conditions will actually improve.
IWW noted that close observation on the enforcement of the agreement is needed, however, they stressed the limitations of trade unions to do so “since the paid officials of the trade unions who signed it do not work in the sector.”
They added that “Without a militant base of workers ready to fight for its enforcement and protection, any collective agreement is meaningless”.
Context:
This agreement is the result of negotiations by trade unions following multi-day strikes by Wolt delivery drivers in December 2022.
The strikers were protesting against their wages continuing to be slashed amid increasing fuel costs – which they have to cover themselves – and a higher cost of living.
Strikers told in-cyprus at the time that working terms were already unfair, with their incomes amounting to €400-€500 per month. The strikers also noted that they have to buy the equipment they use (jacket, delivery box, helmet) from the company.
