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CAIR salaries down 9%

18/02/2011 10:52
The Cyprus Airways trade unions signed an agreement with the Management on Friday for a cutback of 9% in the salaries of its 1400 employees, paving the way for the House approval of the state aid of €20 million.

The cutback will be effective until the end of 2011, which means that the salaries will be restored in 2012 if no other agreement is signed. For the lowly-paid, the cutback is not valid for the first €500 of their salaries.

The agreement also reduces the annual leaves, the holidays, the sick leaves and the overtimes.

Both the Labour Minister and the General Manager of the national carrier as well as the leaders of all five trade unions welcomed the agreement, stressing that this process aims to save and strengthen the competitiveness of the airline.

According to Labour Minister, Sotiroula Charalambous, the common interest prevailed during the procedure and it is no other than the survival of the national carrier to the benefit of the Cyprus economy, the employees and the country in general.

Mr. Mavrokostas expressed his estimate that the Company is in a survival track after the decisions that have been taken.

PASYPI Chairman Pambos Tappas, the employees-members of SEK, the Chairman of SYNIKA-SEK, Andreas Pierides and the Chairman of SIDIKEK-PEO, Antonis Neophytou expressed their wish that this is the last time that the employees make sacrifices.

At the same time, they urged the Parliament to approve the bill on the state aid of €20 million to the Company for the losses that it suffers due to the Turkish embargo in the past six years.

For the 140 employees that will be dismissed as redundant, the compensation plan will be the same as that of 2006. They will receive 60% of the compensation in May 2011 and the remaining sum in a year.

The Company’s Management will inform the trade unions on a three-month basis on the adoption of the actions for the improvement of the Company’s finances and that the 60th age of retirement will be maintained.