AKEL needs the strength of society to achieve our demands for working people

Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas

21 May 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

There are two days left until the elections, yet we haven’t heard a single word from the DISY-DIKO-ELAM front regarding workers, labor issues, and collective bargaining agreements. They talk about growth but remain silent about the fact that this growth has not truly and fairly reached all working people and their incomes. This silence is no accident. These are the very same political parties that, at the behest of big business, have repeatedly voted against all of AKEL’s initiatives in Parliament to enshrine collective bargaining agreements.

This Sunday, the interests and needs of the hundreds of thousands of people in Cyprus who drive the country’s development every day will also be at stake. AKEL has presented and continues to project to society its struggles, its history, and its achievements for the people of labour, as well as its current demands and proposals.

AKEL proposes establishing the principle that no private entity or business should be able to receive public works or contracts, or any state subsidy, unless it applies a collective bargaining agreement for its employees. No one should receive state funds unless they respect their employees and guarantee their basic rights: a 13th-month salary, a Provident Fund, the Automatic Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), paid holidays, and overtime pay. We are also demanding a minimum wage that meets modern needs and is paid on an hourly basis, while at the same time ensuring that the minimum wages agreed upon in collective bargaining agreements are made mandatory for all employers in the sector. This is how we can practically improve the lives and wages of the people of labour.

No other political force has such proposals, nor does it take a stand on this issue. That is precisely why AKEL needs the strength of the working people themselves to achieve our demands tomorrow in Parliament. For the rights and dignity of workers.