Staff at the culture ministry staged a one-hour spontaneous work stoppage on Wednesday morning, protesting against what Pasydy described as repeated attempts by the ministry’s director-general to bring its entire budget under his control.

The walkout, involving all ministry staff, took place between 9am and 10am.

According to Pasydy, the proposed changes were pursued without prior information or consultation with the directors of the ministry’s departments or Culture Deputy Minister Clea Papaellinas.

The union alleged that through the proposed budget changes, the director-general was seeking to centralise control over most departmental responsibilities, as well as responsibility for implementing projects and programmes.

This, Pasydy said, would remove departments’ autonomy and diminish the administrative role of their directors.

The union said staff were particularly concerned as they had already observed what it described as attempts by the director-general to sideline and marginalise departmental directors, which they believed were now escalating through the proposed budget changes.

Pasydy also raised concerns that, if the amendments were approved, oversight, monitoring and approval of all the ministry’s financial transactions would be concentrated in the hands of one person.

Other reasons cited for Wednesday’s protest included repeated delays by the director-general in approving matters, which the union said had resulted in ministry actions either being delayed or not implemented.

It also alleged continued interference in the work of individual departments and the imposition of unilateral decisions on matters which fall under the responsibility of their respective directors.

Pasydy further accused the director-general of “dismissive behaviour” towards staff, which it said had created an “intimidating, insulting and aggressive working environment”.

The union called on the ministry’s administration to take immediate corrective action to restore its smooth operation, warning that otherwise it would have “no other option than to take strong measures in response”.