Kition Ocean Holdings issued dismissal letters to employees at Larnaca’s port and marina on Tuesday evening, according to workers’ unions, prompting the government to advance a scheduled meeting on the matter by a day.
The consortium had announced earlier that day a call for the government to respect workers’ rights following the termination of their contract to develop the Larnaca port and marina. However, the announcement did not mention the dismissal letters.
“Dismissal letters were handed to Kition’s employees yesterday evening,” said Charalambos Avgousti, a member of the union OMEPEGE-SEK, to the Cyprus News Agency. Despite the dismissals, employees reported to work as usual.
In response, a meeting between the unions and the Transport and Labour Ministers, originally scheduled for Thursday morning, was brought forward to Wednesday afternoon following a Council of Ministers meeting.
Avgousti expressed confidence that a solution would be found to avoid victimizing the workers. Preliminary discussions with the Labour Minister had explored potential resolutions, and Avgousti remained optimistic about their implementation.
Currently, the port is operating normally, except for cranes and machinery owned by Kition. Alternative machinery is being used to offload ships, though at a slower pace.
Nadia Kyritsi, general secretary of the trade union SEGDAMELIN-PEO, confirmed the dismissal letters and emphasized that the new operator must retain the current employees under their existing terms and collective agreement, which expires on June 1, 2025. She stressed that the workers are fully trained professionals aware of their employment terms.
Kyritsi expects these matters to be clarified during the meeting with the government, maintaining that the workers’ right to continue their employment is “non-negotiable.”
President Nikos Christodoulides reassured the port workers, stating there was nothing to worry about and that the issue would be discussed by the Council of Ministers before the afternoon meeting.
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