Cypriot workers are outraged by the mockery when they read that the average salary is €2,500
16 October 2025, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
Most Cypriot workers are outraged by the extent of the mockery when they read that the average salary in our country is €2,500. This is because they know that these figures are mainly due to the arrival in recent years of thousands of employees from abroad in high-tech and financial companies who are paid many thousands of euros. The average worker in Cyprus has never seen such salaries or such increases. On the contrary, the reality of the people of labour is that:
- Salaries in Cyprus remain 30% lower than the EU average.
- 40% of workers in Cyprus are paid less than €1,750 gross per month, and even most of these are at the minimum wage level.
- Any wage increases do not offset the long standing high cost of living, particularly the cost of housing and energy. Median equivalent income (total net income) has increased by 20.4% in the EU since 2010, but in Cyprus by just 3.4%. As a result, the purchasing power of Cypriot workers is declining, the number of people living in poverty has increased, and income inequality is deepening.
All this is happening at a time when the Cyprus economy is recording high growth rates and banks and big companies are recording record and super profits. This is precisely why AKEL insists that economic growth must be translated into real improvements in the incomes of Cypriot workers, with measures such as:
- A substantial increase in the minimum wage to reflect the cost of living
- Extending the Cost of Living Allowance COLSA to all workers in the country, starting with low-paid workers in the private sector, which can be achieved by the government through an amendment to the minimum wage decree.
- Extending collective agreements to the private sector and introducing institutional measures to compel employers to implement them.
16.10.2025
