Government and SEK union discuss pension reform and labor issues

President Nikos Christodoulides met with the new leadership of the SEK trade union at the Presidential Palace on Thursday evening to discuss key national labor and economic policies. The meeting was attended by Minister of Labor Marinos Mousiouttas, Deputy Minister to the President Irini Piki, Director General of the Ministry of Finance Andreas Zachariades, and Deputy Government Spokesman Giannis Antoniou. The SEK leadership was represented by Andreas Matsas, Panikos Argyridis, Giannis Tsouris, and Savvas Koulas. The parties reached an intention to include an agreement on the second pillar of pension reform in a bill to be submitted to Parliament in September. A draft proposal for this reform is expected to be delivered within 15 days. Additional topics addressed included the strategy for foreign workers, the hourly minimum wage, legislation on minimum wage adequacy, the expansion of collective agreements, and issues concerning the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (AHK). President Christodoulides described the union as a close partner despite past differences in approach.