Cyprus Finance Ministry estimates overall 8% increase for public sector at more than €300 million a year

Cyprus’s Finance Ministry has said that the trade unions’ demand for an 8% pay increase for hourly-paid public-sector workers cannot be considered separately from the rest of the public sector: if the increase has to be extended to all staff categories, the budgetary cost will rise by more than €300 million a year. The statement was issued two days before the general strike scheduled for 17 September.

The issue concerns 6,500 hourly-paid workers in government departments. For them alone, an overall 8% increase would cost approximately €17 million a year. The ministry estimates the trade unions’ full package of demands at €50 million over three years, and at €23 million annually from 2027; it considers such amounts manageable for the budget.

“What will apply to the 6,500 hourly-paid workers will, in practice, also have to be applied to the other staff categories,” the ministry said in its statement. At the Finance Ministry, extending the increase to the entire public and broader public sector is described as an absolute challenge for private-sector taxpayers, while it notes that pay issues are traditionally resolved through a framework agreement with all trade unions at once, rather than by individual groups of workers.

About 11,000 people are expected to take part in the 24-hour strike on 17 September: 6,500 employed in government departments and another 5,500 in school boards, healthcare and other organisations outside the state payroll. The SEK, PEO and DEOK trade unions are seeking a 2% increase for 2025 and 3% increases for each of 2026 and 2027, as well as the restoration of starting pay rates that were cut by 10%. The protest will begin at 10:00 outside the Presidential Palace in Nicosia.

The Finance Ministry called on the trade unions to call off the strike and return to the negotiating table. If the action goes ahead, the ministry is asking for essential staff to be provided in hospitals, the fire service, water supply, prisons and telecommunications.