Christofias warns OEV to avoid Cyprus clash over wage freeze

President Demetris Christofias has called on OEV to avoid unilateral actions such as freezing salaries, benefits and prices for two years due to the world financial crisis, that may provoke the workers and the social partners in Cyprus.
President Christofias, who was addressing the OEV annual assembly on Monday, said that the government is taking all the necessary measures in order to tackle the effects of the financial crisis.
“The government is taking all the necessary measures with a main aim to keep the growth rate of the economy and the employment's high level, especially in the sectors of tourism and construction,” he said, adding that at the same time the government is promoting a series of measures to support the financial sector.
Christofias also stressed that, despite the difficulties of the international crisis, the government aims at consolidating conditions of macroeconomic stability, in order to achieve the improvement of the standard of living for all its citizens. The main axes of the government’s strategy include measures to boost demand and employment, particularly in the sectors of tourism and construction, he added.
As regards services and finance, President Christofias referred to the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Russia that Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis signed in Moscow.
“The economic developments so far have shown that the Cypriot economy is coping in a very satisfactory manner with the international economic downturn,” he said.
Analysing his priorities for the economy, the president said that he will maintain policies to attract foreign investment and capital to Cyprus, as well as promote the island as an international business centre, will strengthen entrepreneurship by modernising the operation and effectiveness of the Registrar of Companies, and will encourage and enhance research innovation by increasing the funding, and by establishing the Scientific and Technological Park in Cyprus.