The ultimatum from the unions... and the reports by Brief have paid off.

• It had become a practice at EAC to get promoted and not be moved.

• Unions satisfied with the outcome of the controversial issue.

• EAC Employees: The state turns a blind eye - EAC is collapsing.

The "ultimatums" from the EAC Board of Directors and the trade unions have finally paid off regarding the need to relocate a director of the Authority who, despite being promoted, persistently refused to move and fill the specific position, in violation of the Organisation's regulations.

According to information obtained by Brief, the director in question informed the head of his department yesterday that he finally accepts the Board's decision to be relocated, thereby retaining his promotion. 

This development appears to have had a positive effect on the final decision of the Organisation's management, which held an extraordinary meeting yesterday, as revealed by Brief, and did not impose any sanctions against him based on the provisions of the Authority's internal regulations.

For the trade union movement, the issue, as it had unfolded, was not simply about the promotion and relocation of an employee. It was purely institutional, and the EAC Board had an obligation to uphold the regulations and avoid any outside interference.

The trade unions organized within the EAC had made public last Saturday their joint letter to the Board, in which they criticized Georgios Petrou, Chairman of the EAC Board, and by extension the Authority's management, for "problematic and anti-institutional interventions that risk the administrative decomposition of the EAC." 

They even claimed that a series of highly serious and deeply concerning events are undermining the legality, prestige, and smooth operation of the Organisation, disrupting the working environment, and causing "conditions of institutional deviation."

These claims were made because the information gathered by the unions indicated that, in the case of the director in question, there were "political interventions" and, as they argue, this was the reason why he persistently refused to be relocated. 

Georgios Petrou, Chairman of the EAC Board, in statements to Brief, had argued that the management does not cover up for anyone, nor does it accept political interventions. 

"The serious and responsible decisions of the EAC Board over the last two and a half years are made on the basis of rationality and documentation, guided solely by the development and safeguarding of the well-understood interests of the Organisation," noted the Board's Chairman.

EAC sources told Brief that this specific case involving the director is not unique. 

The practice of being promoted and refusing to fill the position if it was outside one's home district was a common phenomenon. 

Dozens of political interventions over time prevented successive Boards from taking punitive action against employees who, while accepting the promotion, did not fill the specific position because they would have to relocate to another city.

Marios Papoutis, President of SEPAHK and Assistant Networks Director of the Electricity Authority, representing its scientific staff, spoke to Brief and expressed his satisfaction with the Board's decision to strictly adhere to the regulations. 

He noted, however, that this case is not simply about compliance with regulations. 

"The issue," he said, "was purely institutional and should have been addressed as such from the very beginning."

He emphasized, however, the long-standing problems faced by the EAC, which, "if not resolved yesterday, will leave the Authority in an unfavorable position and facing irreversible developments," he added. 

He claimed that the State is turning a blind eye. 

"The photovoltaic, as was the political commitment, are not being implemented and no one," he stressed, "cares why 500,000 Cypriots have not installed photovoltaics because they do not have the financial capacity and continue to pay increased energy costs."

He confirmed that it is a matter of time before consumers experience power cuts if serious reforms are not made.

He referred to the inadequacy of electricity supply, pointing out that there are currently no units available to cover potential breakdowns.

Source: Brief