Filenews 9 March 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
With common assumptions about a slowdown in economic growth due to the war in Ukraine, but also about the continuation of inflationary pressures, yesterday's meeting of the Economic Development Advisory, chaired by finance minister Konstantinos Petrides, was concluded.
The Advisory Economic Committee met yesterday for the first time in almost 10 years and was attended by the Minister of Energy, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, the Governor of the CBC and the leaderships of SEK, PEO, OEB, KEBE PASYDY and DEOK.
According to information provided by "F", during the meeting, the social partners were informed by the Ministry of Finance about the possible impact of the crisis on the Cypriot economy, with the minister referring to a manageable situation, something that the Governor also mentioned, regarding the side effects on the banking system.
The guilds took note, among other things, of the request for an immediate end to the procedures initiated for the granting of new permits for the employment of staff from third countries, reiterated the position for the full reintroduction of the ATA and called for measures to support vulnerable groups of the population.
In a statement yesterday, the ANC notes that, despite the new and great challenges and the great degree of uncertainty, the government assures that "in a spirit of consensus and unity, we will successfully address this crisis, as we have done with the crisis of the pandemic".
At the same time, intense concern developed about the impact of inflation on consumption in Cyprus and, by extension, on government revenues.
On behalf of PEO, the General Secretary of the Guild, Sotiroula Charalambous, stressed the need to demand additional financial instruments from the EU and to readjust actions of the Recovery Plan to support growth. Speaking to "F", Mrs. Charalambous said that the need to strengthen the incomes of society in general was stressed, recalling that it was internal consumption that in the midst of the pandemic limited the consequences of the crisis. In this context, PEO suggested, among other things, the adjustment of the state's benefits and the support of the low pensioners, including them in the special tariff of electricity. PEO also called for an immediate end to any discussion of employing foreign human resources due to the new data and for priority to be given to employment in the hotels of those who worked in the industry in 2019.
The same request was made by SEK, based on what the General Secretary of the Guild Andreas Matsas told "F". According to Mr Matsas, SEK raised the issue of reassessing the needs of the labour market, due to the loss of 900,000 tourists from Russia and Ukraine. The SEK stressed the need to take palliative measures for specific population groups that will be hit hardest by accuracy, stressing the importance now of accelerating the dialogue on the reintroduction, but also on the enlargement, of the ATA, while it noted the need to consider a reduced VAT rate on basic consumer goods. He also said that consideration should be given to imposing a cap on the profit margin of businesses to limit speculation on fuel and other products, while noting that SEK reiterated its proposal to criminalize the non-payment of income tax, but also to pay VAT directly at the time of the transaction, as tools to increase the state's revenues.
The imposition of a ceiling to counter accuracy was also requested by DEOK, as confirmed by the president of the guild, Joseph Anastasiou, who also stressed the need, speaking to "F", for the Ukrainian crisis not to put the brakes on the agenda of the social dialogue for the establishment of a national minimum wage, as requested by the other guilds.
