Statement by the General Council of the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) 19 March 2024, Nicosia

The General Council of PEO, in its session today, assessed the organizational and fund-raising results in 2023 and approved the organizational and financial plan for 2024.

The General Council positively assessed the fact that there was a significant increase in membership in 2023 confirming that PEO is on a continuous upward trend. The fact that more than 7,000 new members were organized in the ranks of PEO for the first time in 2023 confirms the confidence the workers have shown in our Federation.

Considering the conditions in which these results were achieved, the General Council of PEO congratulates all the militants and members of PEO for the collective and organized work done.

The General Council of PEO also approved the objectives of the organizational and fund-raising plan for 2024. The main objective is the further organizational strengthening of PEO, which is proving to be a decisive factor in the daily struggles being waged to defend working people’s rights. Particular emphasis will be placed on the organization of workers in new enterprises and sectors.

The General Council of PEO confirmed that 2024 will be a very important year for the trade union movement and the struggles of workers to defend and expand their rights.

The renewal of Collective Agreements based on the direction given by the General Council of PEO for significant wage increases and the improvement of other benefits and especially the renewal of the Collective Agreements in the Construction and Hotel sectors with the strengthening of institutional and legislative measures for their implementation, is a top priority for 2024.

Taking into account the general issues that are pending such as the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), pension reform including the abolition of the 12% penalty on those who choose to retire at 63 years, the improvement of the minimum wage with the introduction of minimum rights for those not covered by collective agreements, our general struggle against the deregulation of labour relations, our broader demands for the extension of the welfare state and improved benefits for the vulnerable groups of the population, health, housing and other issues important to working people will also be high on our priorities.

It is precisely for this reason that it is important that the further organisational strengthening of PEO continues unhindered. The stronger we are organizationally, the more effectively we wage our struggles.

The General Council of PEO calls upon the working people, and especially the younger generation, to be vigilant and to rally their forces. By organizing working people at every workplace we create the preconditions for the continuous improvement of working people’s living standards.

Let the upcoming events to commemorate International Workers Day in less than 1.5 months become a springboard for waging struggles and asserting demands to achieve our goals.

19 March 2024

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