Operation “Deregulation of labour” by Sotiroulla Charalambous, member of the Political Bureau of CC AKEL

 

A few days ago figures were released on the situation of labour and unemployment in Cyprus.

In February 2014 the unemployment rate in Cyprus was 74,000 people. This means that in one year (2012-2013) 18,832 people joined the ranks of the unemployed. From the records kept in the Public Employment Services on the people who have been unemployed for over six months, in March 2014 compared to March 2013 this number increased by 31.5%.

The situation is equally negative also with regards those who have a job.

• Part-time employment in 2012 was 10.7% of the employed population, while in 2013 it rose to 12.7%.

• In the fourth quarter of 2012, working people employed in temporary work accounted for 15.9% of workers, while in the fourth quarter of 2013 it jumped to 20%.

• There was an increase in the number of working hours for people in part-time and full-time employment.

We need to add the following to these figures: Cyprus has the biggest reduction in wages in 2013 (15%) of the 28 EU member states, while the purchasing power of wage-earners fell by 30%. While this is happening in wage labour, on the opposite end, profits in 2013 increased by 33%!

It is true that the process of deregulation of labour and undermining of collective bargaining began some years ago in Cyprus and was intensified especially by the possibility that was given as a result of Cyprus’ accession to the EU, the exploitation of the free movement of workers as cheap unregulated labour.

The class-orientated trade union of the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) in recent years has raised the issue of the deregulation of labour as the central axis of its activity.

PEO waged the battle at the level of the workplace aiming at the real and universal application of collective agreements and at the level of improving the institutional framework for worker’s access workers to trade union organization and collective bargaining, the application of the principle of equal treatment of working people, the implementation of the agreed collective agreements in the projects of the public sector.

We had achieved progress in this effort.

The so-called Memoranda of Understanding is one of the tools being used in all the countries that have joined them to accelerate the aggressive processes of deregulation of labour.

The policies promoted through these Memoranda with regards work have a common starting point: as few regulations as possible on jobs. Collective agreements, the regulation and setting of working hours, overtime, the minimum wage is are seen as an obstacle to entrepreneurship; as obstacles hanging over the economy that should be as weak as possible or even better, to get rid of them altogether.

And of course it is logical that the employers and bosses favour and encourage this policy. The question is – what is the government doing?

The government of Nikos Anastasiades has abolished regulated working hours in shop stores, unilaterally altered the way of compensation of overtime in the public sector. In addition, it has converted the State Training Institutes into self-employed people, relaxed the policy of employing graduates from third countries, refusing to resubmit to the House of Representatives the Bills for the equal treatment of working people and for the expansion of the validity of collective agreements.

At the end of the day instead of operating as a mechanism to prevent deregulation and protect the weak, through its actions and decisions it too is involved in the operation for the deregulation of labour. It completely identifies with the Memorandum, its policies and philosophy.