Filenews 6 July 2024 - by Adamos Adamou
The strike struggle of a portion of distributors in Nicosia at the end of 2022 had a happy ending, albeit with a delay, as it led to negotiations at the Ministry of Labour and the day before yesterday to a preliminary agreement for a sectoral agreement in the fleet management sector.
The Department of the Ministry of Labour itself played a decisive role in the months-long negotiations taking place at the Department of Labour Relations, as well as the trade unions SYXKA PEO and OMEPEGE-SEK, which announced yesterday the conclusion of an agreement.
According to "F", the preliminary agreement will cover the staff of fleet management companies, as well as companies that act as platforms and directly employ staff.
The first collective agreement in this sector has already been signed by both trade unions and representatives of fleet management companies, with which digital platforms that accept orders for food distribution cooperate.
Based on what has been agreed, distributors guarantee, among other things, minimum wages, specific working hours and other benefits.
As SYXKA PEO announced, the agreement in principle is expected to be put before the trade union bodies for approval, to be implemented from August 1, 2024. The general secretary of the trade union, Neophytos Ttiminis, also said that the contract will be valid for two years and lays the foundations for a comprehensive regulation of the working conditions of employees in the sector.
"We expect that within these two years that the agreement will be in force, we will see some issues that may arise, so that further discussions and improvements can be made regarding the terms and conditions of employment of employees," he added, noting that "as SYXKA PEO we were on the side of the employees from the very first moment and we consider the signing of the first Sectoral Collective Agreement as very important. because it concerns one of the most vulnerable groups of workers."
The union also argued that the agreement in principle "is the first collective agreement of workers in this sector, not only in Cyprus but also on a pan-European level and is the result of the dynamic mobilizations of distributors that took place in December 2022".
In its own announcement, OMEPEGE-SEK also confirms the happy conclusion of the negotiations, culminating, as it says, in the signing for the first time of a collective labour agreement covering almost 3,000 employees in the distribution and courier sector.
"The two-year collective agreement provides for wage improvements, regulation of working hours and other similar benefits, while in particular it regulates important issues for safety and health at work. The union also argues that the conclusion of a collective agreement in the sector will be beneficial for both workers and businesses, because it will limit unfair competition, undeclared and illegal work.
The first contract in the fleet management sector was also welcomed in a statement by Wolt, which claimed yesterday that it had participated in the discussions "despite the fact that it is not a party to the collective agreement, since as we know the company does not employ distributors directly, but cooperates either with fleet management companies or with self-employed distributor partners". He believes the deal will have a positive impact on distributors working for fleet management companies, the thousands of businesses that use distribution services and, of course, consumers.
What they won, what they will discuss
The sectoral agreement reached safeguards, among other things, the working hours of employees in the sector, their payroll and new rights/benefits.
According to "F" information, for payroll it is stated that each distributor will receive a minimum salary of €950 upon recruitment, which will increase to €1050 after six months of employment with the same employer. Minimum wages that are slightly higher than those set by the national minimum, which for recruitment amounts to €900 and increases to €1000 after six months of employment with the same employer.
It is clarified that salaries include an indexation allowance, which from 1 January 2025 onwards will be adjusted in accordance with the current ATA agreement. The working hours of staff are set at 40 hours, while the working hours for a six-day working week are should be spread over six days of the week. It is also clarified that staff will be entitled, in addition to annual leave under the current legislation, to 15 holidays with full pay, which they will choose from a list to be agreed between the two parties. If he is assigned to work, he will be paid an additional two-tenths of the hourly wage for each hour worked.
Issues that will be further negotiated are the payment of a 13th salary and the exact way of overtime pay of distributors.
The agreements also include the provision of specific equipment to distributors at the employer's expense and the establishment in the new year of a welfare fund, relief and incentives for staff, to which the employer will contribute in the first phase 0.25% of the total salary of each staff member.
