Cyprus Mail - article by Lizzy Ioannidou 26 September 2018
Municipal worker unions filed a complaint to the labour department on Wednesday against Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos for arbitrarily docking workers’ wages for allegedly sitting around during work hours.
In a letter to the Paphos municipality, unions Sek, Peo and Deok claim that the Paphos mayor gave written instructions on July 2 to the municipal secretary and accounting department to deduct hours from the wages of workers at the parks department and those responsible for recording water supply levels.
Phedonos justified the deductions saying that the workers had been sitting around during work hours and displayed a lazy work ethic.
According to Peo secretary Dimitris Epiphaniou, the Paphos mayor’s actions have affected 15 municipal workers.
Epiphaniou clarified that based on the municipality’s collective labour agreement for hourly government workers, and specifically article 20 which deals with disciplinary proceedings, such proceedings are not yet regulated by the municipality, and therefore the provisions stated in the termination of employment law apply, rendering Phedonos’ actions a breach of this agreement.
