The minimum wage will go up from €940 to €1,000 a month, Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou announced on Wednesday after the cabinet meeting.
He didn’t say when the decree would take effect but likely once the decree is published in the official gazette.
The government, evaluating all the data and implementing the governance programme of the president of the Republic, decided to issue the decree on the Minimum Wage Limit of 2023 in accordance with the proposal of the ministry of labour and social insurance, which provides that the monthly minimum wage for full-time employment after completing six months of continuous employment, increases from €940 to €1,000,” the minister said.
The move comes following months of debate with trade unions and employers’ organisations.
As of January 1 this year, the current statutory minimum wage in Cyprus was set at €940 per month. Trade unions have been pressing for an increase.
Despite initially opposing any increase, employers later proposed €970. Unions wanted €1,020.
At the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Panayiotou submitted the findings of an advisory committee. The findings, though assisting the minister in formulating his recommendation on the matter, were not binding.
Employers were against an increase, arguing it would raise operating costs for businesses.
Trade unions on the other hand said inflation is eating away at the current minimum wage, which is why it needed to be raised. They also cited data showing that during 2023 the rate of employment went up, as did productivity.
The minimum wage decree does not cover domestic workers, people working in agriculture and livestock, persons employed in the shipping industry, and hotel workers who are covered by a different decree.
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