We would have an established minimum wage at the end of May, SEK Secretary General Andreas Matsas said, noting that this is a pre-election commitment of President Anastasiades and noted that a dialogue should not be started from the beginning, as most of the issues in the social partners' discussions with the late Labour Minister Zeta Emylianidou were closed.
"Any attempt to differentiate this framework, either in relation to the basis for calculating the minimum wage, or in relation to any exceptions that were never discussed, leads - for us at least - to self-contradiction in what we have been discussing all along," he noted.
Andreas Matsas at the press conference on Friday morning expressed confidence that we are not at an impasse on the minimum wage issue and referred in detail to what had preceded the last meeting with Zeta Emilienidou.
"Any differentiation, alteration or exploitation of Zeta's loss on purpose is self-contradictory for each partner in relation to what we submitted as contributions, the concerns we raised, the disagreements we expressed, and the framework of the resulting synthesis of views. We must be clear and unequivocal, if Zeta had not been overtaken by death, at the end of May - I am in a position to know - the minimum wage would have been established."
Responding to questions, Matsas said it would be funny to discuss a figure below 924 euros. It is funny, he added, to hear amounts that shatter human dignity. He noted that the EU's assessment that a minimum wage in Cyprus at the 1,000 euro threshold would ensure that no worker would be put at risk in terms of the poverty line. "This for us is a signpost as to where we should be heading."
He also said that no one had questioned after April 19 the text on the methodology for calculating the minimum wage. There was no variation in the basis of the determination and the framework for smooth implementation, including the mechanism for periodic adjustment, he added.
"We should not allow anyone, wherever they come from, to question the philosophy of the minimum wage. It is dangerous."
Responding to another question, the SUC General Secretary said he did not think we were at an impasse. He kept as a point of reference the President's statement last night, he said, that he remains committed to the implementation of the minimum wage. However, he said, the BCC is clear that we should not enter into a dialogue from the beginning, "there are risks involved."
"It really bothers us, the fact that it comes into the discussion whether or not there has been a dialogue beforehand. It enters the questioning by the participants themselves whether we have arrived at certain parameters or not."
It is legitimate to raise concerns with regard to the time horizon for the implementation of the minimum wage, the way it will be adjusted, the point in time when the 60% target will be achieved, he added, saying that if we consider that the toy EU-SILC (The EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) does not exist, "then what reference point will we use to arrive at the target set by the EU itself to reach 60% of the intermediate wage? And to cover basic needs of workers."
Andreas Matsas said that his detailed reference to what preceded is "a reflection of the reality of how the data evolved from the moment the dialogue started until mid-May."
He recalled that the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive is already being promoted, with specific references highlighting its usefulness for the benefit of workers and businesses, while supporting the real economy and growth. In addition, he said, the institution of collective agreements is being strengthened through the recent agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council. He also noted that the minimum wage for 9 specific professions on the basis of the Decree of the respective Minister of Labour has been frozen since 2012.
Concern about the meeting at the Presidential Office
The meeting on Tuesday at the Presidential Office, he continued, gave them concern because there was a clear differentiation of the basis for calculating the amount of the minimum wage, a subversive alteration of the framework of determination arises, raising new issues of exceptions and other parameters, perpetuating the impoverishment of vulnerable groups of workers and referred to distorting arguments 'mainly by employers' organisations in relation to the course and conclusion of the preceding dialogue, leading to the definition of the basic parameters that will constitute the framework for the definition, implementation and adjustment of the minimum wage'.
Through its reaction, the SUC, said its General Secretary, expresses its strong concern for the 40,000 or so people who will be able to take a breath of life with the implementation of the minimum wage. "We refuse to self-contradict ourselves", said Matsas and referred to a recent survey by the CEC, where the most important problem facing workers in Cyprus today is the level of wages, at 83%, while the need for the state to increase the level of the minimum wage registers at 31%.[/B] "These data confirm the need to arrive at a socially fair framework with regard to the minimum wage."
Matsas referred to the timing of meetings and statements since the start of consultations in 2019, calling for a study by experts from both the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Commission. The effort, he said, of the social partners is being intensified from July 2021 to April 2022, with the holding of five multi-hour sessions of the Labour Consultative Body, chaired by Zeta Emilianidou.
A final meeting with the partners was pending[/B], he said, which was scheduled with the trade unions for Monday 16 May 2022 and which never took place, while a similar meeting would be held with the employers' organisations "and we would be ready for a conclusion within the timetable that was set".
The FCC, Mr. Matsas, clearly requests that the process be completed on the specific points that are open, including the hourly minimum wage, within the framework of the horizontal and uniform minimum wage, taking into account only the three categories that were set for exception from the beginning.
He also welcomed the repeated decision of the President of the Republic to define, establish and implement a fair National Minimum Wage, which the labour market really needs, in order to achieve the dual objective: the economic support of workers, especially the low-paid and vulnerable, as well as the reduction of unfair competition against companies that respect and reward, mainly through collective agreements, their human resources.
Source: CNA
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