Govt signs first public sector pay raise deal since 2009

The government on Thursday signed an agreement granting all workers in the central government and the broader public sector a 1.5 per cent rise on their base salary – the first such across-the-board increase since 2009.

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos signed two separate agreements with unions – one with the PEO and SEK syndicates, the other with Pasydy.

“Today we are pleased to announce this agreement, which benefits workers, society in general, and which is within the capabilities of our economy” Keravnos said in remarks later.

He thanked trade unions for having displayed patience for several years in not demanding a general increase.

A ‘general increase’ is a fixed percentage increase that applies to all employees in the government and broader public sector. By contrast, in the case of annual pay increments, the percentage amount depends on a person’s pay scale.

Under the deal concluded on Thursday – covering full-time as well as part-time workers – the 1.5 per cent pay rise kicks in on October 1.

The deal affects an estimated 60,000 people.

SEK and PEO represent workers in the broader public sector – for example people working in semi-governmental organisations like CyTA, as well as people employed in municipalities and local government.

Pasydy represents people working for the central government, primarily staff at the various ministries. Some 12,000 members of Pasydy are affected by the agreement.

Under the 1.5 per cent pay rise, the minimum increase to a person’s base salary would come to €27.61 a month.

The left-leaning PEO union welcomed the agreement, particularly the fact it gives a much-needed boost to workers on the lower paygrades.

It was 15 years ago when the government last granted a general increase.

Collective agreements are typically renewed every three to four years, and they involve a general pay increase. But in the collective agreements that came after those of 2009, no general increases were agreed because meanwhile the financial crisis had broken out, culminating in the 2013 meltdown and commitments made to international lenders to rein in the public payroll.

Ever since, collective agreements had been renewed perfunctorily, but did not come with a general increase – until now.

Strathis Mattheous, head of the Pasydy union, told the Cyprus Mail that the current agreement covers the period until January 2025. It also provides that unions cannot ask for a general pay increase for 12 months thereafter – until January of 2026.