The ATA should not only not be abolished or weakened but should be extended to cover minimum wage workers, as well as those who are currently not covered by collective agreements, IOC President Joseph Anastasiou announced from the podium of the IOC pan-Cypriot conference, which took place today, Wednesday, at the Journalist's House, in Nicosia.[/B]
The conference, in a resolution adopted, put forward a series of demands concerning health and safety, the minimum national pension, the extension of unemployment insurance, the abolition of the 12% penalty for certain categories of workers, etc.etc.
The conference dealt with the course and demands of the ICFTU on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its foundation in 1962.
The conference was addressed by the Minister of Labour Kyriakos Kousios, the President of the EPP, Marinos Sizopoulos, and the former Secretary General of the ICFTU, Diomedes Diomidus, while the current President of the ICFTU, Joseph Anastasiou, was the speaker.
Mr. Sizopoulos said in his address that the conference is a reaffirmation of the continuous and stable cooperation between the EPEK and the ICFTU, referring to "many challenges" for the progressive trade union movement and progressive parties. He said that "the globalisation of the economy and the serious economic problems caused by wrong political decisions since 2008 have in fact led to a dangerous deregulation of labour relations and the violation of rights enshrined in previous years."
It is no coincidence that in the last 15 years we have experienced the shrinking of the middle class, he pointed out, adding that 25% of our population is below or close to the poverty line. "This is why the constructive cooperation between the EPP and DEOK must continue in order to solve the problems of the citizens," Sizopoulos said. The EDEK President stressed that the EDEK and the DEOK had a close cooperation with the late Zeta Emylianidou, as well as with the current Minister of Labour, Kyriakos Kousios, to solve the problems of the population.
Furthermore, he said that the EDEK and DEOK, working together, achieved the introduction of the minimum pension, the widow's pension for men, the granting of an early pension to thalassaemia sufferers without cuts, the subsidy to working mothers for the care of their children in nurseries, the extension of maternity leave, paid parental leave, the commuting allowance for working rural residents, the increase in the housing allowance and the inclusion of 294 communities in it, paternity leave, etc.In his speech, IOC President Joseph Anastasiou noted that in 60 years of life and action, the IOC has left an indelible imprint on the trade union political and socio-economic life of our country.
In his speech, the President of the IOC, Joseph Anastasiou, pointed out that the IOC has left an indelible imprint on the trade union political and socio-economic life of our country. "We feel proud because we have never disappointed the expectations of the workers. We have won and lost battles," he added. He further said that the ICRC had contributed significantly to the modernisation and strengthening of the pension system and fought for the preservation of the ATA in the industrial relations system. "We demanded strong collective agreements, guaranteeing decent wages and workers' rights. We fought and continue to fight for a strong welfare state for a fair distribution of national income, occupational safety and health, combating informal employment and decent working conditions for our young people," he stressed.
The IOC President said that "not only should the ATA not be abolished or weakened, but it should be extended to cover both minimum wage workers and those who are currently not covered by collective bargaining arrangements." He also said he credited the government with the adoption of the General Minimum Wage, while criticising it "for the unacceptable regulations imposed without meaningful social dialogue to satisfy the demands of employers' organisations", making particular reference to the absence of regulated working hours and the non-inclusion of workers' rights.
In his address, the former General Secretary of the ICFTU, Diomedes Diomidus, praised the initiative of the late Vassos Lissarides for the establishment of the ICFTU and briefly reviewed the history of the ICFTU, referring to its foundation in 1962 and its re-establishment in 1982 by Renos Prentzas, who in 1997 handed over the leadership of the guild to Diomedes Diomidus. Diomedus also thanked the former President of the Republic, Glafkos Clerides, and the former Minister of Labour, Andreas Mousiuttas, while he complained about the attitude of the PEO and SEK guilds towards the IOC.
During the conference, a video dedicated to the 60 years of the IOC, which was founded by Vassos Lyssarides, Petros Stylianou and Iakovos Katsounotos, was shown. A one-minute silence was observed in memory of the deceased pioneers of the ICFTU.
Resolutions adopted
During the conference, resolutions were discussed and adopted. The resolutions note that the ICFTU "considers it necessary to take immediate measures to further improve the situation and eliminate risks at work". Among other things, "the IOC demands that the Labour Inspection Department be staffed to the levels required by the economic and industrial development of the country, with immediate recruitment of inspectors, and reinforcement with modern technical equipment so that the Department can meet the new and complex requirements imposed by the new standards".
Regarding pensions, the ICFTU calls - among other things - for the establishment of a minimum national pension, the adjustment and extension of the unemployment benefit from 6 to 9 months, as well as the immediate abolition of the 12% penalty for workers in heavy manual occupations and women with insurance gaps due to maternity. Calls on the Ministry of Labour to take immediate corrective action on the General Minimum Wage, including - among other things - setting an hourly rate of pay on the basis of 38 hours of work and calculating the General Minimum Wage on the basis of the methodology of the European Statistical Office at EUR 1 036.
In addition, the Conference is demanding, among other things, legislation obliging employers who grant a provident fund to cover all their staff, the reduction of VAT on fuel and food, the reduction of the price of electricity and the strengthening of the household subsidy on the basis of income criteria. The IOC joins the social dialogue on the ATA by demanding the preservation of the philosophy and full restoration of the institution that ensures the purchasing power of wages, labour peace and normality in labour relations, as well as the integration of the ATA into the General Minimum Wage and its extension to all workers not covered by collection and contracts.
Source: CNA
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