The Larnaca bus drivers strike has entered its tenth consecutive day, as employees of Larnaca Public Transport continue industrial action over working conditions and the implementation of their collective agreement. A new General Assembly will be held today following lengthy talks yesterday between union leaders and Minister of Labour Yiannis Panayiotou.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, the meeting brought together representatives of the PEO, SEK, and DEOK unions. From 9:00am to 12:00pm today, the striking drivers will convene at the SEK offices in Larnaca to decide whether to approve or reject the latest proposal.
During yesterday’s talks, key clarifications were made. Any comments on route cards will not be implemented under the collective agreement, and objections about scheduling functionality will be reviewed by the relevant ministries. The timetable for jointly reviewing breaks and routes has also been moved forward to the last ten days of the month.
Under the new proposal, the disputed one-hour break will be retained, overtime beyond seven hours and 36 minutes will be paid from the first minute, and breaks previously omitted from route cards- and therefore unpaid- will now be recorded and paid.
A previous mediation proposal from the Labour Ministry, rejected by drivers earlier this week, included four points:
- Any work beyond seven hours and 36 minutes per day to be paid for all employees.
- The working framework will not exceed nine hours, with break time capped at 60 minutes.
- New schedules to be given to employee representatives within 48 working hours, showing start and end times for work and breaks, with distribution by 3 September.
- State services to jointly review break schedules and suggest improvements. On route card 12, route 413, the break would be taken at Kofinou station.
Striking drivers are demanding the enforcement of a 38-hour work week, as agreed and stated in the collective agreement.
Also read: 120 Larnaca Public Transport employees on 48h strike – Why?
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