UNLESS there’s a last-minute U-turn, the social partners will turn up to the scheduled meetings and rubber-stamp a framework agreement on COLA/ATA.
BY all accounts, we’re expecting the long-awaited permanent agreement on Cost of Living Allowance payments to workers to be signed. At the same time, the word is that the signing will lay the groundwork for the government’s push to deliver “COLA for all”.
THE President’s intervention, Nikos Christodoulides’ personal involvement, and the willingness of the key players have broken the deadlock that’s plagued this entire period—one marked by disputes and industrial action. We can’t say with absolute certainty that these promising signs will deliver a final deal. But we’re optimistic, judging by how things have shifted in the past days.
THE five-point framework agreement on the table restores COLA through a series of measures that will bolster the mechanism’s implementation and largely guarantee its continuity.
IT’S clear that overturning this looming impasse and reaching an agreement—on terms that satisfy all sides—is a positive development. Once everyone seems to have given it the green light, it ensures the agreement will be fully implemented. After all, that was the goal, and it’s been achieved through a compromise that was, frankly, inevitable and keeps everyone happy.
IT was crucial to reach an agreement. Because it’s useful for people, for workers. The agreement matters because it strengthens social peace and stability. And that’s a constant effort—ensuring there’s dialogue, not confrontation, between employers and workers.
AND to be fair, over all these years we haven’t seen major upheaval in this arena. Disagreements, often fierce ones, have existed and will continue to exist. But it’s clear that both sides—employers and trade unions—have the willingness to sort things out in the end.
THE government’s intervention was significant when it came to COLA, particularly the President’s involvement in the final stages. Let’s hope everything proceeds according to the promising signs we’re seeing. In other words, that the parties involved will put pen to paper on COLA.
