Michael Antoniou on the major labour issues pending in 2025 and how OEB intends to approach them

Anticipated to be faced with a series of serious and also quite complicated labour issues, the social partners - employers' and trade union organisations - will be called upon to demonstrate the necessary collectivity and willingness to compromise to achieve a positive outcome and avoid disruption of labour peace as much as possible.

Among other things, within the first half of 2025, there should be a conclusion regarding the revision of the Costa of Living Allowance (COLA), while by the end of the year, both the second revision of the national minimum wage and a very large chapter concerning pensions should be concluded.

In order, however, to be fully prepared for the discussion of all "hot" issues and to present its positions in a documented manner, the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation OEB has already done the necessary preparatory work and is currently in the process of finalising its proposals, which it will present at the dialogue table, whenever it is called upon to do so.

In fact, as the Director General of OEB, Michalis Antoniou, emphasised in his statements to InBusinessNews, the Federation will enter into the dialogue in good faith, constructively and with a willingness to compromise, in order to find the necessary solutions for the good of the country's competitiveness and economy.

Revision of COLA

Specifically asked about the labour issues pending in 2025 and how OEB will approach them, Antoniou said, "within 2025 we will be called upon to face several challenges."

As he explained, the first major challenge concerns the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), for which all social partners have committed to reaching a new format by June.

OEB, he added, "has already begun preparations and we are currently in the final stage of finalising the proposals that we will submit to the discussion table and our goal is clear and declared."

According to the Director General of OEB, "an arrangement must be found that will also take into account inflation - the increase in inflation - but at the same time also take into account both the growth of the economy and the increase in national productivity, as well as unemployment rates."

That is, he pointed out, "the new formula should take into account inflation, GDP and national productivity growth and unemployment fluctuations", emphasizing that "inflation alone cannot be taken into account to determine the COLA".

"Therefore, we are entering the final stretch for the COLA, which must stop being a burden on the economy and businesses, and the only way to do this is to put it on a rational footing for those who, based on their agreements, are entitled to it," he indicated.

Pension reform and minimum wage

The second major chapter, Antoniou added, is the pension reform, for which there are also declared intentions on the part of the government for its completion before the end of 2025.

The third important chapter, he continued, is the review that must be carried out within 2025 to implement the national minimum wage in 2026.

This, he stressed, "is an issue for which, based on our own understanding of things, a special formula should be formulated, which will determine the variation of the national minimum wage in a way that will not create issues either in the labour market, or in anything else related to the country's economic activity and competitiveness."

"The other chapter that we will find before us in 2025 is the discussion taking place on the implementation of the provisions of the European directive on adequate minimum wages, which, among other things, provides that collective agreements must cover 80% of employees," he added, emphasising that "this is an issue that we must manage very well, because there is misinformation on the part of unions regarding exactly what this directive entails."

Legislation of an agreement for essential services

In addition to the above, the Director General of OEB underlined, "another issue, which OEB will raise with complete sobriety in 2025 - for which we believe the conditions are ripe - is the legislation of the agreement reached by OEB, SEK, PEO and PASYDY in 1999 to regulate the process of resolving labour disputes in essential services."

"After the experiences we have gained from various strikes towards the end of 2024, I believe that the social body has fully understood and the conditions have matured so that with sobriety, I repeat, we can legislate what for the time being constitutes a simple agreement, which the unions do not accept to be implemented and thus the state remains unfortified and citizens are exposed to strikes in essential services and which have a disproportionate burden on innocent and non-shareholders in the labour dispute for which the strike is being held," he further explained.

There must be compromises.

Furthermore, responding to a relevant question, Antoniou emphasised that "these are very difficult issues in terms of their management, because the views between employers' and trade union organisations not only do not converge, but in fact in many of them they are completely in conflict with each other."

"We will see how we will manage all these issues, but we will certainly approach the dialogue - as we always do - in good faith and constructively, with a willingness to compromise, but everyone must be willing to compromise in their aspirations, in order to find a solution for the good of the country's competitiveness and economy," the Director General of OEB concluded.

(Source: InBusinessNews)