The unions in Cyprus are preparing for a general strike due to the failure to reach an agreement on the automatic indexation of wages, BNR reported.
The decisions on the next steps will be taken at the general union conference, which is taking place today.
The strike actions will be warning, but may escalate due to the deadlock in the social dialogue, the 13 unions participating in today's conference announced.
A critical meeting held on Friday between representatives of the unions, employers and the Minister of Labor on the controversial cost of living allowance ended without result. After months of negotiations, there has been no convergence between the positions of the social partners.
The unions are insisting that labor wages be indexed to 100% of the annual inflation rate, instead of the current 66.7%, in order to preserve their purchasing power.
Employers want this compensation to be linked to wages, in addition to inflation, also to economic growth and labor productivity, in order to protect the competitiveness of businesses.
The Ministry of Labor announced that it is continuing its efforts to reach an agreement.
The new automatic wage indexation is due to come into effect in January next year.