A temporary, transitional agreement was reached between a company and workers at the port of Larnaca, with the mediation of the Ministers of Labor and Transport, in order to continue negotiations for labor peace. The transitional agreement provides for work at the pier to be carried out on a 50-50 handling ratio between dock workers and the company until March 31, 2023.
The joint meeting took place on Monday at the Ministry of Labour, in the presence of the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance, Kyriakos Kousios and the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yannis Karousos. Upon completion of the meeting, the Ministers made statements.
The Minister of Labor announced that “we are pleased to inform you that after consultations we had together with the Minister of Transport and both sides we had a positive outcome Based on what has been agreed, the dock workers will undertake 50% of the work at the pier and this arrangement will be valid until 3/31/2023”.
As he said, during this period the two sides will meet and discuss, hoping that they will be able to reach a consensual agreement. “Both sides fully maintain their positions. The employer side maintains its position that, according to both the law and the regulations, it is entitled to carry out the works at the pier itself with its own employees, while on the contrary, the trade unions and the dock workers maintain their position that it is their right to carry out these 100% of the works,” added the Minister.
Mr. Kousios added that “we are ready to assist in reaching a conclusion. But we cannot negotiate under pressure. It is our plea not to proceed with measures that are against either the law, the procedures or the labor code. I am addressing both employers' organizations and trade unions. Labor peace must be maintained at all costs and we should realize that it is in the interest of the country to have labor peace and realize that we cannot a state that relies on tourism to close airports, we cannot close essential services when we are dealing with the economic problems we are facing today”.
For his part, the Minister of Transport said that “it is important for the economic development of the country in the essential services that there is labor peace, both for the benefit of the investor, but also for the benefit of the workers. And I am particularly happy, because, together with the Minister of Labor , and the initiatives we have undertaken in the last few days, we have reached an interim, temporary agreement on the issue of works at the pier, where until the end of March it will be on a 50-50 basis and time is given for consultation to find a permanent solution to this matter”.
Mr. Karousos added that “we have proven as a Government that when the time is given for consultation, mediation and when the correct procedures are followed we can find the right solutions for the good of everyone and my plea to everyone, not only for the ports, but also airports and other essential services, that the correct procedures are given and followed and that we are given time for mediation and consultation”.
Answering whether this is a similar agreement to the one in force at the port of Limassol, Mr. Karousos said that the agreement is for the port of Larnaca, to give the opportunity and time to make proper consultations, because each port has its own he said.
“In Larnaca there is an investor, which is the biggest investment we have in our country today, €1.2 billion. This investor will try to attract work to the port of Larnaca, not “to steal” from the port of Limassol, but to bring additional work and benefits to the economy. Depending on the increase in work he estimates, all will play a role in whatever final agreement the two parties find between them,” he noted.
In response to a question regarding the regulation of the issue of strikes in essential services, the Minister of Labor said that, although the issue was requested by employers' organizations, however, “I believe that these issues are not resolved by legislation arrangements but through dialogue and ending with an agreement, which both sides will be ready to abide by. Enforcement by legislation can be done if we fail to have a consensual agreement,” he noted.
