The responsibility now falls on President Nikos Christodoulides to protect labor relations, intervene, and de-escalate the mounting conflict between labor unions and Labor Minister Yiannis Panayiotou, with both sides inflaming tensions with recent remarks.

During an appearance on Alpha TV, Panayiotou was asked about union accusations that he disregards social dialogue. His response—“Unions and employers do not co-govern”—sparked outrage within the labor movement. “It is the executive authority that governs,” he asserted, intensifying the already strained relations between unions and the Labor Minister, a role traditionally seen as the guardian of labor peace.

Senior officials from Cyprus’s major labor unions—SEK, PEO, and DEOK—have indicated that they will bring several pressing concerns to their upcoming meeting with President Christodoulides on Friday. Among these are Panayiotou’s handling of the strategic employment of third-country nationals, his failure to exhaust social dialogue avenues, and his controversial statement that “unions do not co-govern.”

Despite the mounting tensions, a joint statement issued yesterday by SEK, PEO, and DEOK following their leadership meeting made no direct reference to the Labor Minister. This suggests that unions may be reluctant to engage in further public disputes with Panayiotou at this juncture.

“The issues of social dialogue, the deregulation of labor relations, and the government’s overall stance on respecting tripartite cooperation will be discussed in the upcoming meeting between union leaders and the President,” said PEO Secretary-General Sotiroula Charalambous in a statement to Brief.

During their joint meeting, SEK, PEO, and DEOK assessed the impact of the Cabinet’s recent decision to approve a new employment framework for third-country nationals. The unions argue that the new framework does not adequately regulate the labor market and fails to position collective agreements at the core of labor relations.

“It is widely agreed that the framework does not address the need for better labor market regulation, particularly in ensuring collective agreements remain central to employment conditions,” their statement noted.

Additionally, the unions criticized the policy for failing to safeguard foreign, local, and EU workers, warning that it fosters unfair competition between businesses that adhere to collective agreements and those that do not.

“The framework adopts criteria that give employers even greater leeway to exploit foreign labor, potentially displacing local and EU workers,” the unions emphasized.

Brief has uncovered five key demands unions had included in the draft employment strategy but were ultimately disregarded by the government:

1. Equal treatment for foreign workers, ensuring they receive the same working conditions and legal protections as local employees. No dismissals should occur under the pretext of redundancy, and businesses should improve efficiency before resorting to hiring foreign labor.

2. Respect for tripartite cooperation and the Industrial Relations Code.

3. Full transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers, with data shared with social partners through the Advisory Committee.

4. Prohibiting employers from transferring foreign workers between business locations and establishing a cap on the number of foreign employees a company can hire.

5. Granting the Advisory Committee authority to hear complaints from foreign workers, particularly regarding living conditions and labor rights violations. Employers should also recognize foreign workers’ right to union representation.

PEO Secretary-General Charalambous remarked that the government should be concerned that employer organizations welcomed the new strategy without any criticism. This, she noted, raises serious questions about the balance and fairness of the policy.

As the confrontation between unions and the Labor Minister intensifies, all eyes are now on President Christodoulides to see how he will navigate this high-stakes labor dispute.