● The 28th Pancyprian Congress of the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) has completed its deliberations
● Sotiroula Charalambous is the new General Secretary of PEO
The 28th PEO Congress concluded its deliberations today with the election of the new leadership of PEO.
The Congress convened in Nicosia 9/10 December under the slogan “80 YEARS OF STRUGGLES-FORWARD WITH DETERMINATION”. 550 delegates were elected representing all the sectors where PEO is active.
The General Secretary of the Construction Workers Trade Union Michalis Papanikolaou opened the Congress. The President of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) Giorgos Mavrikos and the President of the Turkish Cypriot Revolutionary Trade Unions Federation DEV-IS Koral Asam addressed the Congress, which was attended at the opening by a high-level delegation of AKEL headed by the General Secretary of the Party Stefanos Stefanou, as well as the leaderships of the mass organisations of the Peoples Movement of the Left.
Pambis Kyritsis PEO GS delivered the keynote speech. Congress discussion followed. Video messages were transmitted from PAME and GSEE Greece, DISK Turkey, Trade Unions from Palestine and Cuba. Representatives from fraternal trade unions from 15 countries took part in a teleconference discussing the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic on working people and the response of the workers’ movement.
The 28th Congress approved the main Resolution, as well as a message addressed to Turkish Cypriot workers.
The new General Council elected in its first session Sotiroula Charalambous as the new General Secretary of PEO, succeeding Pampis Kyritsis who served as General Secretary for 23 consecutive years.
The 28th Pancyprian Congress of PEO elected the members of the new General Council of the Federation consisting of 125 persons (111 elected and 14 ex-officio).
● Brief CV of the new General Secretary of PEO Sotiroula Charalambous
S.Charalambous was born in 1963 in the Agios Memnonas neighborhood of occupied Famagusta.
She studied Political and Social Sciences in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In 1986 she became a full-time militant of PEO. She has assumed numerous responsibilities and tasks in various positions: Head of the Women Workers Bureau of the Larnaka-Famagusta District Organisation of PEO, Secretary of the Central Women’s Bureau of PEO, Executive Secretary of PEO, Central Organisational Secretary of PEO and Deputy General Secretary of PEO.
She was Minister of Labour and Social Insurance during the Demetris Christofias government 2008 – 2013 and AKEL-Left-New Forces MP for the Famagusta district.