Although the right to strike is respected, it does not solve any problem, President Nikos Christodoulides has said, urging social partners to engage in dialogue within the framework set by the government regarding the Cost-of-Living Allowance (CoLA).
Asked to comment on references of "government double-talk" on the issue, while attending an event in Aradippou, Larnaca, on the evening of 11 September, and following the three-hour general strike earlier in the day, the President said that "there is no double-talk on the part of the government."
He noted that "the right to strike is absolutely respected. The only certain thing is that it does not solve any problem and does not create any winners. Trade unions lose, employers lose, the government loses, and above all, because we are accountable there, the Cypriot people suffer."
President Christodoulides added that the government has taken responsibility and set a framework for discussions to begin. "I don’t understand why this discussion hasn’t started. A framework has been set. We do not expect everyone to agree with it, but it is something that allows the dialogue to begin," he said, stressing that without dialogue, no solution can be found.
The President of the Republic also said that this Government is determined, and it is one of its main priorities, to reform the 1960 state. He listed a series of reforms, such as those concerning the Law Office, the Audit Office, pension reform, tax restructuring, automatic voter registration, and the right to vote from the age of 17. "We are here to reform the state with one and only goal: to serve the citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, to whom we are exclusively accountable," he said.
(Sources: CNA, PIO)
