Unions push for social dialogue on modernising industrial relations

In July 2006, during a special press conference, the two largest trade union organisations in Cyprus, the Pancyprian Federation of Labour and the Cyprus Workers’ Confederation, presented a framework of common positions. Through this forum, they reintroduced an earlier demand for immediate commencement of social dialogue on the issue of modernising the industrial relations system.

During a specially convened press conference on 17 July 2006, the two biggest trade union organisations in Cyprus – the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (Παγκύπρια Εργατική Ομοσπονδία, PEO) and the Cyprus Workers’ Confederation (Συνομοσπονδία Εργαζομένων Κύπρου, SEK) – presented a common framework of positions and demands, in which they call for social dialogue to begin immediately on the issue of modernising the industrial relations system. PEO and SEK’s joint initiative is in effect a follow-up to a previous effort in the same direction dating from February 2006, in which the Democratic Labour Federation of Cyprus (Δημοκρατική Εργατική Ομοσπονδία Κύπρου, DEOK) also took part (CY0602104F).

Without directly blaming the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance (Υπουργείου Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Ασφαλίσεων, MLSI), PEO and SEK consider that the ministry has not put all the necessary procedures in motion in order to begin the social dialogue in due time. In this context, PEO and SEK are calling on the ministry to play a decisive role so that dialogue can start immediately, focusing on specific issues and with an agenda aimed at reaching decisions via social consensus at a tripartite level.

Both trade union organisations are seeking to avoid an interminable dialogue and aim to achieve practical results laid out in a specific timetable as soon as possible. For that reason, a bilateral meeting was held on 18 July 2006 between PEO and MLSI, and a joint meeting of PEO, SEK and the ministry was also planned to take place in July.

Trend towards deregulation

The main reason that PEO and SEK have raised this issue again in such an urgent manner is the serious concern of the trade union movement about the increasing trend towards deregulation of industrial relations. According to the two organisations, the opening up of the country’s economy, particularly after Cyprus’s full EU membership, has created the conditions for increasing numbers of non-Cypriot workers becoming available in the labour market. Many of these workers are in a vulnerable position, largely due to lower education levels or to lack of access to information networks. Thus, businesses tend to hire more non-nationals as they often represent a cheap labour force.

As a result, the right to organise and bargain collectively is being undermined, wages and benefits for Cypriot workers are being forced downward, and the violation of collective agreements is a common occurrence.

Restoring the balance between social partners

In order to address the above-mentioned problems, the trade union movement is focusing its attention on promoting a package of measures to modernise the industrial relations system. These measures are directed primarily at restoring the balance of forces and interests between workers and employers. The proposed institutional and legislative regulations, which will also be the subject of social dialogue, involve the following:

• modernising industrial relations and more specifically ensuring in practice the right to organise, as well as the obligation of employers to apply collective agreements and accords;

• tightening existing legislation on the termination of employment, in order to reduce the number of arbitrary dismissals and provide maximum protection to redundant workers, by imposing stricter penalties on employers who act in an arbitrary or illegal manner;

• amending the Law on Welfare Funds to provide for maximum protection of workers from arbitrary acts by employers that often lead to the loss of workers’ rights (for instance, withholding of workers’ contributions);

• demanding specific changes and clarifications in relation to both policy and procedures for applying the criteria on employment of third-country nationals. These changes mainly refer to the employers’ obligation to conclude and enforce legal collective agreements with the unions to prevent economic migrants from being used as a cheap labour force.

Importance of cooperation

The workers’ side has agreed to call for a large-scale congress in order to unite all trade unions around the common objectives. With regard to the employer organisations, PEO and SEK have expressed the hope that the employers will display the necessary interest to avoid social tension and class confrontation. The latter will become unavoidable if the social equilibrium is not restored through specific measures and decisions. To date, however, the employer organisations have not issued any particular position on the matter.

It should be noted that the proposed institutional and legislative changes are by no means aimed at questioning the underlying philosophy of the existing industrial relations system. In fact, the two biggest trade union organisations are in favour of safeguarding the system of free collective bargaining and tripartite cooperation, in the belief that this system constitutes a historic gain for workers and society.

Evangelia Soumeli, Cyprus Labour Institute (INEK-PEO)