It is not only the EAC unions that do not want any organic relationship with the staff of the Electricity Authority that will choose to remain as staff of the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSMK), as we wrote in yesterday's edition, but also the administration / management of the organization. According to separate briefings of the Parliament and the Minister of Energy Natasa Pileidou from the EAC, if the government choice is the full independence of the TSMK from the EAC, then the staff of the Authority that is currently seconded to the TSMK should have nothing to do with EAC and its various funds (Pension Fund, Welfare Fund, Welfare Fund, Medical Care Fund) if it chooses to remain in the DSMK after its independence by a new law.
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As we wrote yesterday, this position of the unions, which is now proving to be officially promoted by the EAC, is considered by various energy actors to be blackmailing EAC employees working in the TSMK to choose to return to the Electricity Authority, as a large percentage of them obviously do not want to lose the benefits derived from the participation in the aforementioned funds of the Authority's employees. If the position of the EAC and the unions is adopted by Parliament, there are fears that what has been built in recent years, with the training of EAC staff to meet the needs of the TSMK, could be demolished, as employees with scientific training and experience may return to the EAC , leaving black holes in the Administrator's office. In such a case, the operator will have to start a new process of adequate staffing, during the critical period of the start of the competitive electricity market, which will be largely under his auspices.
What the EAC suggests
In particular: In a memorandum of the EAC to the Minister of Energy, it is specifically stated that “regarding article 116 (4) (c) (i) and (ii)” Staffing of the TSO during the Transitional Period “(s.s. of the bill pending in the Parliament, among other things for the independence of the TSO) we emphasize that if the issue is independence, it should be done universally, in a practical and legally correct way. The inclusion of personnel that will belong to another legal entity under public law (DSMK) in the EAC Funds (Pensions, Welfare, Welfare, etc.), is contrary to existing regulations and statutes of the funds. The securing of all the rights and benefits of the EAC staff that will choose the transfer to the TSMK, as stated in the Document of Principles (s.s. adopted by the Minister in 2018), should be ensured by the new independent employer (TSMK) . If the said employees are allowed to stay in EAC funds (where this is legally and practically possible), it means that the independence is not complete “.
Elsewhere in the memorandum, the EAC suggests: “Initially, a new pension fund should be set up, similar to the government one, which will include EAC officials who choose to be transferred to the TSMK. Subsequently, the EAC Pension Fund will pay to the TSC the lump sum provided in Regulation 24 of KDP 188/97 and in this way, the service of these employees in the EAC will be transferred to the TSC and may be taken into account by the TSO to determine the length of service entitling them to benefits and to calculate the retirement benefits they will be entitled to receive from the TSO. An employee who transfers service does not lose any retirement benefits he or she has earned for his or her service. As for the Provident Fund, since the TSMK is obliged as an employer to create a Provident Fund for new employees that it will hire, all employees could join it “.
