Carrying placards reading “hands off CoLA”, “CoLA for all” and “the struggle for CoLA does not stop here”, thousands of protesters gathered outside the district administration in Paphos on Thursday as part of the nationwide strike for the full restoration of the cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA).

They said they were fighting not only for themselves but also for future generations, calling CoLA a guarantee of prosperity and social justice.

Sek Paphos district secretary Petros Demosthenous told the rally the strike was a “collective confirmation” of the need to defend workers’ dignity and the credibility of labour relations. 

“We demand CoLA at 100 per cent to cover all workers so that they are paid in line with inflation and the cost of living,” he said, adding that the mechanism was non-negotiable and must be extended to everyone.

Andreas Antoniou of Peo Paphos said workers across the public and private sectors had united “to shout CoLA for all, CoLA in its philosophy, and hands off CoLA”.

He said the union had long proposed applying CoLA to the minimum wage and called on the government to prepare a plan for extending collective agreements, as required by EU directive.

Deok Paphos district secretary Melina Stefanou said workers were “on the front line of resistance” against deregulation and attempts to dismantle the welfare state. 

She warned against efforts to divide employees, saying: 

“We will disappoint those who try to pit workers against each other.”

Head of the Pasydy Paphos district council, Yiannakis Ioannou, accused employers’ organisations Oev and Keve of seeking to abolish CoLA. He said the strike aimed to “promote the rights of all workers” and reiterated the demand for CoLA to apply to everyone.

Maria Triantafyllou of the nurses’ union Pasyno said the protest was “not just a strike but a clear message of resistance to injustice”. She said nurses worked “day and night, holidays and weekends” and would not accept cuts to CoLA, which she called an “inalienable right”.

Political backing also came from Akel MP Valentinos Fakontis, who said CoLA was a shield against rising prices and the housing crisis. 

“We must support workers so the mechanism extends to all,” he said.

Eugenios Agathokleous, head of Poed Paphos, described CoLA as a “long-standing achievement” and expressed hope that the mobilisation would bring results.

Ioannis Ioannou of Oelmek Paphos said teachers joined the protest because CoLA was “not a luxury but a necessity” in a society where costs rise but wages remain unchanged.

Public services in Paphos were disrupted. At Paphos general hospital, outpatient clinics closed at 11am and only emergency cases were handled.

Schools also closed at 11am, with parents collecting children early, while all-day schools reopened at 2pm. Public transport was suspended during the strike hours.

Flights at Paphos airport were also affected, with several services delayed or rescheduled.