Alpha News

After the Minimum, the Hourly: What the Ministry's Study Said and Why Social Partners Disagree

Published December 29, 2025, 11:26

The Cypriot Cabinet decided to revise the National Minimum Wage to €1,088, a decision that has sparked reactions from social partners, namely employer and trade union organizations. The Minister of Labour, Marinos Mousiouttas, described the reactions as expected, emphasizing that the decision was based on a thorough study by the competent Committee, which took into account various factors such as length of service and macroeconomic conditions. According to the Minister, the study proposed a wage range of €979 to €1115 after six months of service, and the final decision was the result of the Ministry's mediating role, taking into account the different views. Mr. Mousiouttas stressed that the difference between the proposals was significant, tens of euros, not just €2-3. In addition, it was announced that the government and social partners will soon discuss the hourly wage, an issue that has not been previously discussed. The Minister expects a discussion with an exchange of views and an effort to persuade what is reasonable, given the variety of working hours in different professions. From the side of the social partners, the General Director of OEB, Michalis Antoniou, argued that the decision does not take into account the macroeconomic data of the Cypriot economy, while the General Secretary of SEK, Andreas Matsas, noted that the new minimum wage reduces the median wage by 54%, impoverishing a specific group of workers. The President of the Minimum Wage Adjustment Committee, Andreas Charitou, confirmed that the study took into account inflation and the Automatic Cost of Living Adjustment. He also announced the continuation of the Committee's work on setting the hourly wage.