Stavros Stavrou: We need the legislative regulation of strikes in essential services

The issue of the legislative regulation of the right for essential service workers to strike has once again been brought to the fore as a necessity by the strike action of the Cyta workers, who, following, the two-hour work stoppage they carried out a few days ago, will go on a 24-hour warning strike on the 16th of the month.

This is essentially a decision based on a popular union tactic in various sectors of the economy, to frequently and with great ease declare strike action, in violation of both the Industrial Relations Code and the Agreement on the Settlement of Labor Disputes in Essential Services 2004, causing major problems to the economy and citizens.

The 2004 Agreement was signed by the social partners and the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance, and entered into force on 16 March 2004. However, it is hardly ever respected by the trade union movement.

The Agreement adds to the Industrial Relations Code for this and so is fully consistent with the voluntary nature of the industrial relations system applied in Cyprus, while it is pointed out that for the purposes of uniform regulation of the resolution of labour disputes in essential services and in the public sector, on 2 November, 2005 with a relevant Decision of the Council of Ministers, the Agreement was extended to the public sector.

Based on the Agreement, essential services are defined as services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of all or part of the population. In the Agreement there are specific services defined as "Specified Essential Services", which relate to projects, tasks or activities that are necessary for:

• Ensuring a continuous supply of electricity.
• Ensuring water supply for water supply purposes.
• Ensuring the operation of telecommunications.
• The safe operation of air transport and air traffic control
• The operation of hospitals.
• The operation of prisons.
• The repair or maintenance of the equipment and electromechanical installations of the National Guard and the Police, including the Fire Department.
• The safe operation of port traffic.

VIEW THE 2004 AGREEMENT, IN GREEK, BY CLICKING HERE

It is also worth noting that in 2012, in light of unjustified strikes by air traffic controllers that caused huge damage to the economy, Parliament passed a law regulating the right to strike at airports.

"Don't paralyse the state..."

Speaking to InBusinessNews, the President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Stavros Stavrou called for the legislative regulation of the right to strike in essential services, clarifying the position of the Chamber and the business world.

"There is a false impression that we are against strikes in essential services or against strikes in general. We are not against this right. What we are asking as the CCCI is to regulate the right to strike in essential services, “he stressed.

Explaining further, Stavrou indicated the need for legislative regulation, so that there would be a process that would be accepted and respected by all sides, and not unilaterally.

"What the CCCI is asking for, and we have said it repeatedly, is that in essential services there should be legislative regulation of this right. We need a process based on which there will be a dialogue with timetables in place," Stavrou pointed out.

In case there is no agreement between the two sides, a time warning should be given and then they should go on strike. "There must be a skeleton staff in place so that the state does not become paralysed," he noted.

Reiterating that the strike is a constitutional right and that the CCCI was never against it, Stavros Stavrou recalled the relevant regulation made for airports. "We want such an arrangement in all essential services, where there will be a process respected by all," he underlined.

In recent years, the economy and the labour sector have been plagued by crises and turmoil, which multiply problems and have seen many sectors brought to the brink of strike action.

"Certainly it is an urgent matter and it has always been urgent, whether we have a crisis or not. A strike, if it paralyses the state, will create problems for you. An arrangement must be made," the CCCI President underlined.

It is noted that the CCCI and in general the employers' organisations, as well as the respective governments, have from time to time been in discussions on the regulation of strikes in essential services, however, there has been no result, hence the fact that there is no relevant regulation.

The former president of DISY, Averof Neofytou, had submitted a relevant proposal to the Parliament years ago.

(Source: InBusinessNews)