The minimum wage for low-paid workers is humiliating

Tax breaks worth tens of millions for big business

 

Statement by AKEL C.C. Press Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas

29 December 2025, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

AKEL calls on the Christodoulides government to listen to working people and review its decisions on the minimum wage for the lowest-paid workers in the private sector. The gross starting salary of €979 and the salary of €1,088 after six months are not enough to cover basic needs such as housing, electricity, food, and fuel in Cyprus in 2026.

The decision of the Christodoulides government is problematic on two fronts.

On the one hand, it set the minimum wage at levels below 60% of the median wage, as included even in the recommendations of the relevant EU Directive. In fact, there has been an even greater percentage decline if we deduct the Automatic Cost of Living Allowance percentage that was recently incorporated into the minimum wage.

On the other hand, it broke its pledge to set the hourly rate of the minimum wage, so that those who work 38 hours, 42 hours, or even 48 hours a week will continue to receive the minimum wage. In practice, this permits employers to force employees to work longer hours without any overtime pay.

One wonders, is this the support for low-wage workers that the Christodoulides government claims it provides?

Will this reduce inequalities?

How great is the provocation when, at the same time, the government is handing out tens of millions of euros in tax breaks to big business and protecting the accumulated wealth and super-profits of the banks?

AKEL urges the Christodoulides government to comprehend that economic growth is based on the hard work and labour of the working people, who are entitled to a substantial improvement in their incomes and standard of living.