Nationwide work stoppage to protest proposed EU Services Directive (Bolkestein Directive)

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In February 2006, a nationwide work stoppage called jointly by all the trade union organisations in Cyprus will be held to protest the proposed EU Services Directive (Bolkestein Directive).

On 24 January 2006 a meeting of representatives of Cyprus’s trade union movement was held for the purpose of examining developments regarding the proposed EU Services Directive (Bolkestein Directive) and taking joint action.

A joint statement released on 26 January 2006 reports that the intention of the proposed Directive is to deregulate provision of services. This would strike a vital blow to workers’ gains and national legislation by creating the conditions where service providers could compete on the basis of lower pay and fewer benefits. It should be noted that this negative development would result from employment on the basis of the principle of country of origin, which would enable employers (service providers) to engage companies in countries where wages are extremely low and taxation systems flexible, and granting them the right to employ staff on terms and conditions of employment that are inferior to those applying in the country of provision of the service.

In this context, all the trade union organisations in Cyprus, specifically the Democratic Labour Federation of Cyprus (DEOK), the Cyprus Union of Bank Employees (ETYK), the Organisation of Secondary School Teachers of Cyprus (OELMEK), the Association of Teachers of Technical Education (OLTEK), the Pancyprian Public Employees Trade Union (PASYDY), the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO), the Cyprus Greek Teachers’ Organisation (POED) and the Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK), expressed the position that the proposed Directive adversely affects the rights and interests of workers, and decided that the country’s trade union movement will take collective action together with other European trade union organisations and the progressive forces in Europe which have come out against the passage and implementation of the proposed Directive.

Specifically, a decision was taken to hold a general work stoppage on Tuesday 14 February 2006, from 11:30 am until 12:00 pm, as an indication of protest against the proposed Directive. On the same day a meeting of trade union representatives will be held outside the Ministry of Finance, during which resolutions regarding employees’ opposition to the passage of this Directive will be approved and delivered. Furthermore, it was decided to hold local meetings of employees in workplaces, for the purpose of providing them with information and obtaining approval of a relevant resolution.

Finally, the country’s biggest trade union organisations, PASYDY, PEO and SEK, were authorised to make organisational arrangements in order to make the nationwide work stoppage as successful as possible, and also to exert pressure on the European Parliament to reject the proposed Directive.

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