New collective agreement in telecommunications sector

Following almost three years of difficult bargaining negotiations, agreement was reached in December 2006 on the signing of a new collective agreement for Cyprus Telecommunications Authority employees. In relation to pay, the new agreement provides for relatively low pay increases; however, the agreement also introduces important changes in terms of non-pay issues, mainly involving the implementation of predetermined flexible working hours and the introduction of the category of ‘hourly paid staff’.

On 19 December 2006, following almost three years of difficult bargaining, agreement was reached on the renewal of the collective agreement (SSE) for the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Αρχή Τηλεπικοινωνιών Κύπρου, ΑΤΗΚ), which had expired on 31 December 2003. The agreement, which required the approval of the Ministry of Finance (Υπουργείο Οικονομικών) in order to be implemented, was signed by representatives of the Free Pancyprian Organisation of Telecommunications Employees (EPOET) and the Federation of Semi-governmental Organisations, affiliated to the Cyprus Workers’ Confederation (Συνομοσπονδία Εργαζομένων Κύπρου, SΕΚ), the Pancyprian Independent Employees Union (PIEU) at ATHK, and the Local Authority Workers’ and Employees’ Trade Union (Συντεχνία Ημικρατικών, Δημοτικών και Κοινοτικών Εργατοϋπαλλήλων Κύπρου, SIDIΚΕΚ), affiliated to the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (Παγκύπρια Εργατική Ομοσπονδία, PΕΟ) at ATHK, as well as a representative of ATHK.

The new agreement, which was approved by the Ministry of Finance on 12 January 2007, covers about 2,500 employees, and applies retroactively to the three-year period from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006. Thus, the agreement has the dubious distinction of being signed after it had expired. The years of delay in signing the agreement were due, on the one hand, to the impasse regarding the renewal of the SSEs in all semi-governmental organisations – in particular the inability to reach agreement on the pay-related part of the agreements (CY0502104F) – and on the other hand to serious disagreements between the two sides over the basic terms of the agreement, such as on working hours.

Pay-related issues

The pay-related part of the agreement is completely in line with the framework agreement on the renewal of SSEs in semi-governmental organisations, which the government and the trade union organisations PEO and SEK signed on 14 January 2005 (CY0502104F). In this context, the new agreement for ATHK employees provides for the following across-the-board pay and pension increases:

• no pay increases for 2004;

• no pay increases for 2005;

• a 2% increase from 1 January 2006 on basic pay as at 31 December 2005, with a minimum monthly increase of CYP 4.50 (approximately €7.80 as at 20 February 2007);

• a 1% increase from 1 January 2007 on basic pay as at 31 December 2006, with a minimum monthly increase of CYP 2.25 (around €3.89).

It should be noted that the increase payable from 1 January 2007 is retroactive and relates to the increase for 2006; the minimum amount of increase is to be paid both to staff working for ATHK on the date that the agreement was signed and also to staff hired after the agreement was signed, without affecting the pay scales.

However, as regards the use of the minimum pay increases, both sides agree that this measure constitutes a problem; thus, they have agreed to abolish this measure in principle, on condition that they first agree to set new pay scales, without setting a time to begin bargaining on this issue.

Non-pay issues

On the non-pay front, the new agreement introduces important changes. The two major changes concern the implementation of predetermined flexible working hours and the introduction of the category of hourly paid staff.

Working time

As regards working time, the implementation of predetermined flexible working hours relates exclusively to ATHK’s shops (‘cytashops’); more specifically, in terms of the fundamental provisions and parameters of the new system, it will be implemented on the basis of a five-day week, with uniform working hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays and two different sets of working hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. During the winter season, employees will work according to the first type of schedule (‘schedule A’) for two days and in accordance with the second type (‘schedule B’) for another two days each week; during the summer season, staff will work only one evening per week in turn, in accordance with schedule B. If the need arises, a shop may remain open later than 17.30 in the winter season and later than 19.00 in the summer season, for which the employees will be paid overtime. Under no circumstances, however, will employees be allowed to work more than 14 Saturdays a year. In order to keep the working week down to five days, employees who work on Saturdays will not work on Wednesdays in the same week, or if the needs of the service permit, will work one of the other schedules A of the same week.

Hourly paid staff

The introduction of the category of hourly paid staff and the simultaneous elimination of the permanent staff category is of particular significance, along with the gradual elimination of general services staff and the post of telephone operators, either through resignation from the service or through transfer of existing staff to another category or occupation of permanent staff. The new category of hourly paid staff, which will cover both full-time and part-time employees, will also include call centre assistants. ATHK’s human resources department will continue to be in charge of the recruitment hourly paid staff in all posts. The terms and conditions of employment of hourly paid staff will be regulated by the labour legislation in force at any given time, as well as the labour contracts concluded between the hourly paid staff and ATHK, and the successive SSEs entered into between the trade union organisations representing the hourly paid staff and ATHK. The number of staff to be hired will be decided on in consultation with the representative trade union organisations.

Commentary

Despite the fact that the SSE at ATHK covers nearly all of the employees, the long delay in reaching agreement on its renewal nevertheless underlines the inflexibility of the system of collective bargaining in semi-governmental organisations, compared with the procedures followed in the private sector; moreover, it highlights the inherent weaknesses of the system in the event of the resolution of a labour dispute.

As regards the content of the agreement, state intervention in pay issues often poses another obstacle to the regulation of the non-pay terms of an agreement. Also of potential importance is the lack of adequate coordination to allow the trade union organisations representing employees to submit a common framework of demands in good time. Nevertheless, the signing of the new agreement marks a positive development both for the employees and for ATHK, as does the content of the agreement which has significantly expanded the collective bargaining agenda. Moreover, the agreement in principle between the two sides on the initiation of in-depth consultations regarding the reform of the ATHK employees’ pension scheme is also of decisive importance. However, despite their good intentions, and given the diametrically opposed positions of the sides, it will be difficult to reach agreement on this issue before the end of 2007.

Eva Soumeli, Cyprus Institute of Labour (INEK/PEO)