Federation of employers and industrialists (Oev) spokesperson Michalis Antoniou said on Saturday that a meeting with the labour minister failed to break the deadlock over the cost-of-living allowance and Thursday’s general strike is set to go ahead.

“Oev remains committed to finding a solution that will modernise the system in a way that will also avoid strikes, although nothing new emerged from the meeting,” Antoniou said of Friday’s meeting with Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou.

Antoniou added that, despite there being no updates from the meeting, “meetings with the labour minister are always useful”.

Prior to his meeting with Oev, Panayiotou had also met with the unions on Thursday. However, it appears that the general strike announced for September 11 is still going ahead. The strike action was swiftly denounced by Oev and the chamber of commerce and industry (Keve).

A union meeting in Nicosia on Monday declared a three-hour work stoppage from 11am until 2pm on Thursday, warning of harsher measures if their demands were not met.

The strike is expected to cause major disruption, as it will involve workers from both the private and public sectors.

Gatherings of striking workers will take place across the island, with the main protest scheduled outside the finance ministry in Nicosia at noon.

The general strike announcement followed failed talks for the full implementation of the cost-of-living allowance (CoLA) on August 30.

While unions demand a full return of CoLA, with flexibility only on gradual application, employers reject this, arguing it was not part of earlier agreements.

After four hours of discussions at the labour ministry, the gap between unions and employers remained wide.

The government put forward three proposals for discussion. These included the linking of CoLA to the pace of economic growth, setting a fixed percentage for the payment and establishing clear rules for how and when it is applied.

However, the unions said employers refused to consider any option that would lead to an increase in labour costs.

Oev and Keve later said that the dialogue must continue, ultimately calling for what they referred to as “a permanent, modern solution”, which that preserves the philosophy of CoLA, while safeguarding business competitiveness and state finances.

Two days later, on September 1, trade unions announced the strike.

Panayiotou had previously assured his support in bridging the differences between unions and employers, saying an agreement was “feasible” and called for “collective responsibility” as efforts to find a solution continued.

President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday, in an appeal to both trade unions and Oev, said the strike would “not contribute anything to the basic goal.”

He urged both parties to exercise patience in the face of ongoing differences.