Hypocrisy and class arrogance from employers’ associations towards workers and society

 

Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas

6 November 2025, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The stance of employers’ associations on the issue of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) reveals their intransigence, hypocrisy, and class arrogance towards the people of labour and society as a whole. At a time when they are accumulating profits and super-profits of tens of millions of euros, employer leaders are seeking to prevent the extension of the COLA to private sector workers, even for the lowest-paid workers in the country. They are blocking the extension of the COLA, which protects the purchasing power of wages from inflation and the cost of living in our country.

AKEL insists that the COLA must be extended to cover all workers in Cyprus, starting with low-paid workers in the private sector. For this reason, it should be self-evident that the COLA should be incorporated into the minimum wage decree, which, at the same time, should be substantially increased to reflect the current cost of living. At the same time, collective agreements have been and continue to act as a strong shield for workers at the workplace, which is precisely why their extension to the private sector must be supported, along with the introduction of institutional measures that oblige employers to implement them. Measures are also needed from the government to make the implementation of collective agreements mandatory for employers undertaking public works projects.

AKEL stands by workers so that the growth recorded by the Cyprus economy translates into a real improvement in working people’s incomes, that is to say precisely those who are driving force of the country’s economy and growth.