AN INDEFINITE bus strike was avoided at the eleventh hour on Wednesday, when a deal was struck between bus drivers of EMEL and the company late at night.
The drivers were protesting their company’s decision to unilaterally cut their wages by 15 per cent at a time when the two sides were trying to find ways to reduce labour costs. The company said it could not pay the drivers for March due to the cuts in subsidies imposed by the government.
Drivers held a 24-hour warning strike on Wednesday but had decided to escalate their measures after the two sides initially failed to resolve the matter. The drivers announced an indefinite strike but recalled their decision later in the day, after a compromise was reached with EMEL.
Giorgos Kyriakou, CEO of EMEL told the Cyprus News Agency that a deal was struck and that the bus drivers strike was ended. “We concluded negotiations and agreed upon paying the drivers the rest of their March salary and to continue negotiations tomorrow to find ways to reduce the workers cost for 2014,” said Kyriakou, adding that upon this development all bus operations will return to normal.
Earlier in the day, Yiannis Tsouris, a rep of SEK trade union, said the company violated labour norms that have been in place for years.
Wednesday’s strike mainly affected school children and pensioners and increased traffic on the streets of Limassol.
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