The two main hotel employer groups, the Cyprus Hotel Association (Pasyxe) and the Association of Tourist Enterprises (STEK) have reluctantly accepted to give in to union pressure and comply with the labour demands in order to avoid a crisis in the sector.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, Pasyxe and STEK said that their respective extraordinary general meetings accepted the mediation offer proposed by the Ministry of Labour for the renewal of collective agreements.
“We did this in respect to the appeals made by the Minister of Tourism and the Chairman of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation,” the announcement said.
“The said agreement does not satisfy the challenges in the hotel sector, but the two association accepted the mediation to safeguard labour harmony and not to cause further harm to the nation’s economy. However, we anticipate a direct contribution by the government and the trade unions in efforts to overturn the worsening situation in the sector,” the announcement added.
Two critical strikes in the travel sector were called off at hotels and at the national carrier last week, when the Labour Ministry’s mediating team achieved a breakthrough after the hotel employees belonging to the SEK and PEO trade unions accept the mediation offer for the renewal of the collective agreements.
Trade unions had warned that they would go on a crippling 48-hour strike if their demands were not met. Hotel workers are asking for a raise in salaries, an improvement of the 14th salary – which currently stands at 30% of the base salary – and an expansion in the medical insurance programme. They are also up in arms over hoteliers’ plans to reduce holidays rewarded with double pay, from 15 to 10 days a year, as well as over efforts to scrap double pay for Sundays.
Hotel owners claim they are facing increasing costs and cannot afford the raise in salaries and benefits that unions are demanding.
Cyprus Airways (CAIR) pilots also decided to call off a 2-day strike scheduled for the past weekend.
The measures were called off after the company responded positively to three demands raised by the pilots’ union PASIPY.
The pilots demand that the company’s fleet of 11 planes remains intact, that cuts in salaries and allowances are limited and that by 2010 their salaries revert to 2004 level before the pay cuts.
