Trade unions dissatisfied with government plan to expand ATA

Trade unions in Cyprus demanded the expansion of the automatic wage indexation mechanism (ATA) for all employees, but the proposal presented by the government did not provide satisfactory answers, according to a meeting with Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou held on September 16.

During yesterday’s meeting, the trade union movement requested clarification on the outlines of the initiative but did not receive specific and comprehensive information on the content of the government program. Such uncertainty is noted in the official comments of the participants in the negotiations.

Before convening a new all-union conference to review the situation and make decisions, the parties agreed on a follow-up meeting with the Labour Minister, which, according to the organizers, may take place on Friday. The purpose of the next meeting is to clarify the government’s intentions and obtain concrete answers on key issues of ATA implementation.

Trade unions insist on extending the ATA mechanism to all employed persons, noting the need for clear procedures and criteria for its application. For employees, this means that the final decisions on the project will determine whether the mechanism will cover a wider category of workers and what changes to the indexation system can be expected.