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Crunch time for saving the economy
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POED primary school teachers union members protest outside parliament yesterday PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday tried to soften up stubborn unions on the eve of a crunch meeting today to stave off any possible entry to the EU support mechanism.
“I want to show understanding to the unions; this time they were kept out,” Christofias said, adding that the situation right now was “very urgent”.
He was referring to a series of measures announced suddenly by Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias last month that would see a two-year wage freeze in the public sector plus additional taxes on companies and high-paid workers in the private sector.
“A better dialogue could have taken place with the unions instead of telling them this is what’s going to happen and we want your opinion but we don’t have time to discuss it,” he said.
Cyprus is racing against time to put measures in place to shore up the economy and avoid EU sanctions for violating fiscal rules. The deadline is mid December.
Failure to take measures could also force Cyprus to seek an EU bailout as high bond yields have prevented the island from resorting to the international markets for its financing needs.
“I say that we can avoid the bailout mechanism and this is our effort,” said Christofias. “Therefore, let us not create more panic. The economy is psychology and so far in Cyprus we managed to victimise the economy due to our negative psychology. We must end this and we must be optimistic for the measures that we will take. I want to believe that they will be balanced and that we will avoid social turbulence,” he added.
Public sector unions are resisting the fresh measures, and have warned against forcing any decisions on workers.
Main opposition DISY said Monday it would support government austerity measures and has joined the effort to convince unions and other organisations of the need to take action as soon as possible.
Party chiefs will meet Christofias today to finalise the package.
Asked what should be expected from today’s meeting, Christofias said a positive outcome.
“The people are worried about the economy; of course, everyone wants to defend their rights and interests as they understand them … and we need to find a balanced solution, which should not do anyone too much injustice,” the president told reporters.
“Everyone must give to avoid the worst,” he added, referring to workers and businesses alike.
“The situation is very urgent and we should all show mutual respect and a sense of responsibility, which is the most essential thing,” Christofias said. “And I believe that Cypriots, led by the workers, are socially and politically mature, so that we can agree.”
Christofias said there must by an agreement for the sake of the coming generations.
“If the economy is ruined today, the biggest price will be paid by the coming generations,” he said.
DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades highlighted the need for today’s meeting to agree on a comprehensive package of measures to tackle the economy’s structural problems and encourage growth at the same time.
His AKEL counterpart said the people expect the parties to stay away from fruitless discord.
“They expect to hear proposals on how to prevent the entry of our country into the support mechanism and how we’ll handle things so as not to give anyone the right to impose on us really tough and anti-popular measures,” Andros Kyprianou said.
Unions meanwhile protested anew yesterday over the lack of dialogue, adding that they will discuss developments with their members.
“We are under great pressure because of the developments,” said PEO leader Pambis Kyritsis after a meeting between union leaders. He added that the necessary time had not been given and the “necessary conditions had not been secured so that the dialogue with the finance minister tomorrow (today) will be productive and creative.”
read more here: http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/kazamias-cyprus-will-solve-its-own-fiscal-problems/20111203
