CYPRUS: Trade unions adamant on not changing Cyta status

 * Oppose any privatisation of the telco *

Trade unions were adamant on Tuesday in their opposition to any plans to privatise Cyta, despite the state-owned telco’s diminishing market share that would make it more difficult by the day to find strategic investors.

 
During a meeting at the Ministry of Finance, Harris Georgiades and the union leaders at least agreed that the efforts to modernise and change the organisation must continue. But they maintain diverse views on the matter.
Both sides disagree on the state of ownership, as the Minister maintains his position to privatise the organisation, albeit partly, while the unions insist that it should remain in the hands of the state.
What is important is that the efforts to evolve and modernise the structure and procedures followed in Cyta does not override the goal for a more substantial reform and modernisation by finding a strategic partner-investor to partially privatise the organisation, the Minister said in his statements to the press.
This government’s position remains unchanged and is under review, the Minister added.
“We believe that Cyta cannot be the last telecommunications organisation in the entire European area to still operate as an extension of the state” Georgiades said, according to the Cyprus News Agency, noting that the modernisation of Cyta will be achieved in a much better way through its partial privatisation.
The issue is currently being examined at a technocratic level and later will be examined at political level taking into account the concerns and objections raised by parliamentary parties, he added.
SEK trade unionist Elias Demetriou said earlier on CyBC radio that the unions had asked the Minister to actively support the efforts of the workers to maximise the value of the organisation by keeping the status of the public entity.
Demetriou said the unions respect the Minister’s position but added that “we as unions disagree and as I have said the parliamentary parties are on our side, therefore we believe that we have won this battle”.