Workers in electrical and mechanical projects are called by the unions SEK and PEO to strike for 24 hours tomorrow, Thursday, following a decision by the trade union movement to more forcefully demand an agreement that covers all workers in the sector.
The decision for a 24-hour strike comes as a continuation, as they claim, of the deadlock in renewing the sectoral agreement in the field, during negotiations before the Department of Labour Relations of the Ministry of Labour.
The strike, as reported by Phileleftheros, is expected to mainly affect large companies engaged in electrical work, with an organised workforce, that is, registered in unions.
The unions demand a sectoral agreement with the members of the Association of Mechanical and Electrical Works of Cyprus (SEMIEK) and do not rule out escalating measures to pursue their demands, involving their members in the construction industry, as a sign of solidarity.
Moreover, construction workers have been waiting for a long time to pursue their own demands, as negotiations to renew the sectoral agreement in the construction industry have been before the Ministry of Labour’s mediation service for a while without any substantial developments.
Regarding the dispute between the unions and SEMIEK, it dates back, as we were informed, to the demand by SEK and PEO unions for the reinstatement of the sectoral agreement that existed with the Association of Electricians, which no longer exists, with many of its members finding a “shelter” in SEMIEK.
According to Phileleftheros information, only a few SEMIEK members, mainly large companies, now have operational contracts with the trade union movement, but the unions have been demanding for a long time the establishment of a sectoral agreement, as in the past, a position that SEMIEK has rejected in the past.
In light of the above, as announced to the media by PEO, “workers in Electrical and Mechanical Works contractors who are members of the Craftsmen’s Unions of Builders, Electricians, Mechanical Engineers of PEO and the corresponding of SEK, have announced a 24-hour strike for April 18, demanding the reinstatement and modernisation of the sectoral collective agreement.”
“Workers realise the importance of reinstating the sectoral collective agreement and I am confident that united, under the guidance of their unions, they will intensify their efforts and struggle if necessary to achieve this goal,” said Michalis Papanikolaou, the General Secretary of the Builders, Mechanical Engineers’ Union of PEO, to “Labour Voice”, the PEO’s expressive organ, “calling on the employer side to finally accept the obvious”.
According to a post by PEO, the two unions informed with a letter the president and members of SEMIEK, as well as all Mechanical and Electrical Works contractors who are not members of the association, about “the decision of the General Assemblies of workers to proceed with strike measures, following the deadlock declaration in the process for the renewal of the sectoral Collective Agreement by the Department of Labour Relations on April 5, 2024”.
The measures, according to the unions, will be comprehensive and will concern all employers operating in the above sectors.
