Battle for ATA: trade unions demand full restoration of wage indexation

Today, a new meeting will take place between trade union representatives and Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Yiannis Panayiotou. The main topic of the negotiations is the future of the Automatic Wage Indexation mechanism (ATA).

General Secretary of SEK Andreas Matsas stressed that the invitation to the meeting came directly from the minister. He recalled that last week, after a general trade union conference in Nicosia, the unions warned they were ready to resort to tough strike measures if the dialogue failed to produce results.

Matsas noted that participating in the talks with him are PEO General Secretary Sotiroula Charalambous, DEOK President Stelios Christodoulou, and PASYDY General Secretary Stratis Matsaiou. According to him, the unions are taking part in the discussions “with a constructive approach,” expecting that both the ministry and employers will act within the framework of the transitional agreement, which provides for the gradual restoration of ATA.

The unions’ main demands are as follows: full restoration of the automatic wage indexation mechanism, annual adjustment of salaries according to the level of inflation, extension of ATA to all employees regardless of sector, and the enshrinement of this mechanism as a permanent part of the state’s social policy.

For his part, Minister of Labour Yiannis Panayiotou stated that achieving a fair and acceptable agreement for all requires the constructive participation of all sides of the social dialogue. In his words, every side has the right to outline its priorities, but insisting exclusively on one’s own positions makes finding compromise extremely difficult.

Today’s meeting is seen as a key stage in the continuation of negotiations. Its outcome will determine whether the automatic wage indexation mechanism will be restored and in what form it will operate in the future.