Filenews 14 December 2025 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
If the President of the Republic surprised with the announcement of the reshuffle on Friday, December 5, the replacement of Giannis Panagiotou in the position of Minister of Labour was an even greater surprise for a large part of public opinion. Mr. Panagiotou, in the context of a long interview with "F" a few 24 hours after the handover of the ministry to Marinos Mousiouttas, acknowledges that "we are human beings and we have feelings" but, at the same time, "there is no room for sentimentality in politics".
In fact, he adds, "after three years at the helm of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, the dominant feeling is not the bitterness of the departure, but the satisfaction with the achievement of the goals we set and the optimism for the continuation of the course we set."
Regarding the open dialogue on the revision of the national minimum wage, the former Minister of Labour does not mince his words. He reiterates that with the same methodology that the salary was determined two years ago, the €1,125 he spoke about during the handover of the ministry is the minimum amount that should be discussed. And, in addition, the Government's intention, from December '23, to regulate the calculation of the hourly performance of the minimum wage through the Decree should be implemented.
The interview
Did the timing of the announcement of the reshuffle also surprise you? There is no Cypriot citizen who does not justify even a limited sense of bitterness from a minister who is being reshuffled after three years of hard work. How do you feel?
The selection of the members of the Council of Ministers is a constitutional competence of the President of the Republic, who informed me about the decisions he took and I thanked him for the trust he showed me. We are human beings and we have feelings, but in politics there is no room for sentimentality.
In fact, after three years at the helm of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, the dominant feeling is not the bitterness of the departure, but the satisfaction with the achievement of the goals we set and the optimism for the continuation of the course we set. Changes in people do not imply changes in policies and I expect that the path towards a fairer distribution of national income, centered on labour, will continue, in accordance with the popular mandate for the implementation of a human-centered policy.
A reader, whom I do not know personally, asked me over the phone with real interest and perhaps even with political naivety: "And well Energia, he is of one age, he worked for years, he probably saved money. Labour and Evangelou the Deputy Minister, young people, how will they live now?" How will you manage the professional-livelihood issue next?
I belong to the vast majority of citizens who have to work in order to be able to meet the obligations of everyday life and the needs of the family. I consciously interrupted the professional activity I developed in previous years as a manager in an international consulting firm, in order to serve as Minister of Labour of the Republic of Cyprus, being aware of the temporality of state offices.
During the last three years I have served the public interest with dedication, without personal plans for the future, so for the time being the next professional steps I will follow are not planned. However, from 2023 until today we have managed to significantly improve the Cypriot labour market, recording the lowest unemployment rate in recent decades and the highest employment rate of all time, so I am sure that the job prospects in 2026 will be excellent for all employees.
Proud of the work done
Whenever there is a reshuffle, regardless of the Government, we live in the same scenario: Thanks and congratulations from the President to those who are leaving, wishes for a productive term to those who come. Do you think you offered as much as you could? Are you satisfied with the work done during your days at the Ministry of Labour?
I am proud of the work we have done, because in three years we have increased the employment rate by more than 80%, achieving in 2025 a target that was set for 2030. We have reduced the unemployment rate to below 5%, which is the lowest rate since 2008.
We took unemployment to 6.6% and deliver it to 4.1%, moving from 20th to 11th place among EU member states, while we received youth unemployment at 16.1% and delivering it to 13.1%, moving from 19th to 10th place among other European states.
We received the average salary at €2202 and it is estimated that for 2025 it will amount to €2560. We received the median salary at €1497 and it is estimated that for 2025 it will amount to €1975. We increased the National Minimum Wage from €940 to €1000, adopting as a reference point 58.5% of the median wage of the previous year, while we increased the minimum wages for nineteen professions in the hotel industry by 10.66%.
We have improved the response to citizens by speeding up the processing time for social security benefits by 60%, with 80% of applications being processed in less than 6 weeks, speeding up the processing time for applications for employment of foreigners from 7 months to 1.5 months, and speeding up the processing time for applications for training grants from 8 months to 1 month.
We doubled participation in vocational training programmes, and sevenfold participation in programmes to develop green and digital skills. We have improved support for working parents, increasing the relevant benefits of the social security system by 25%, by extending maternity leave by one month, by gradually increasing the childbirth allowance, by upgrading parental leave through the increased age of children from 8 to 15 years and the increased duration depending on the number of children in the family, while before the holidays, payments of €200 per month for 24 months will begin for new mothers under the age of 30, who had their first child from September 2025 onwards.
We cannot list all the decisions you made in your term and all the bills that were passed. We want you to evaluate the 3-4 changes that you consider the most important.
We have managed to create full-time employment conditions after many decades, to meet staffing needs with a focus on domestic human resources as well as with employees from abroad, to improve wages, to upgrade professional skills, and to improve the response of the Ministry of Labour to the citizens. We renewed sectoral agreements in the hotel and construction industries, with a long-term horizon until the end of 2027, upgraded the protection of workers from extreme weather conditions, and secured the future of the ATA institution.
We have created the conditions for much more to be done, which we have launched, the main one being the completion of the preparatory work for the reform of the social security pension system. I am sure that the new Minister of Labour, my friend Marinos Mousiouttas, will worthily complete the government's work for workers and pensioners and I wish him good luck in the mission he undertakes.
€1,125 is the minimum
There was a lot of discussion about your statement, during the handover of the ministry, about the minimum wage that must be agreed in a few days, on the basis of the methodology of 58.5% of the median salary. Is the €1125 you mentioned, the maximum or the minimum that should be given to these employees? Or will this amount finally be negotiated with the partners, in order to reach something lower?
The European Directive on adequate minimum wages aims to tackle the impoverishment of workers, through the setting of minimum wages with a reference point of 60% of the median wage in each member state of the European Union.
According to the government policy implemented in our country, the existing minimum wage amounts to 58.5% of the median wage of the previous year. In view of the gradual approach of 60% of the median wage, I said that we must remain consistent on this course, without setbacks and without regressions, since the economic indicators taken into account remain positive.
Therefore, 58.5% of the median salary of 2024, which was €1881, amounts to €1100, in which the Indexation Allowance of the previous two years will be cumulatively incorporated, since the recent agreement on the ATA provides for the interconnection of the institution with the minimum wage.
In this context, the revised National Minimum Wage that will come into force from January 2026 is expected to amount to at least €1125. In addition, I remind you that as early as December 2023, the Government's intention to regulate the calculation of the hourly performance of the minimum wage has been expressed through the Decree that will be issued in December 2025.
Methodical implementation of the program
Do you think that the Christodoulidis Government met the demands that, in general, society had?
The positive course of the economy and the improvement of the labor market confirm the positive results of the methodical implementation of the Governance Program and create the necessary prospects for the continuation and completion of reforms and changes, for the modernization of the state and institutions.
The utilization of economic development to strengthen social cohesion, to strengthen the middle class in the context of human-centered policy, will confirm the response to the expectations of society, through the improvement of the quality of life and the well-being of citizens.
The position in DIKO and the Parliament
We take it for granted that politics will continue to interest you and you will not be private. Are we finding you somewhere in terms of party affiliation now? Will you be more actively involved somewhere in the coming period? Are you interested in the prospect of claiming a seat in Parliament?
The continuation of political activity is a given and timeless, from the time when as a student I was President of the EFEK of Athens, until recently when as a Minister I was a member of the Council of Ministers.
My political position in the field of the political center and the Democratic Party is known and stable. I am honoured by the recognition I receive and the appreciation I receive, but, as I mentioned earlier, until a few days ago I was fully committed to my duties as Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, without any personal political plans for the future.
The universal performance of the ATA
Was the government framework for the ATA, which had been agreed at a meeting of the Cabinet and was very positively received by the majority of society, a proposal of the Government that was negotiated in the knowledge that it would not be accepted as such? Or was it a political position of the Government that had to be adhered to to the end?
In the context of the social dialogue on the ATA, I submitted the Government's position on the modernization of the institution, in accordance with the needs of society and the potential of the economy.
The Government's position provided for the universal extension of the Automatic Indexation and the staggered performance of the Indexation Allowance, with specific suggestions. Unfortunately, despite intensive efforts, this position was not accepted and could not be part of a mutually acceptable agreement between the two sides. The mediation process continued and was completed with the conclusion of the Permanent Agreement on Automatic Indexation, which is an important success of tripartite social cooperation, workers, employers and the state.
Allow me an indiscreet and uncomfortable question? Do you feel that you were "eaten" by the ATA and the reaction of the social partners?
On the contrary. Both at the beginning and at the end of my tenure as Minister of Labour, I successfully managed the future of the institution of the ATA, with the signing in 2023 of the Transitional Agreement on the ATA and the signing in 2025 of the Permanent Agreement on the ATA. The 2023 Agreement increased the percentage of the Indexation Allowance from 50% to 66.7% of the Consumer Price Index, and the 2025 Agreement ensured the institution of the ATA forever, covering 55,000 additional low-paid workers.
As it has been said many times over time, ATA is a blessing for workers and is necessary to protect wages from the rising cost of living. When I took office as Minister of Labour, the ATA operated with temporary arrangements and transitional agreements, while it was being challenged with the employers asking for the abolition of the institution and its replacement by another mechanism. I am particularly satisfied, because when I completed my term at the Ministry of Labour, the ATA is guaranteed and guaranteed, with the full restoration and gradual expansion planned, as provided for in the Permanent Agreement on Automatic Indexation, agreed between the social partners.
As journalists, we knew that in some cases there was "grumbling" about you on the part of the employers, and in some cases on the part of the trade unions. Possibly this is positive for the work you have done. But how did you, as a minister, experience the famous social dialogue with the social partners, on various major issues? Do you think it is politically correct to ask the elected Government to simply play the role of mediator in a dialogue between third parties and not the role of the one who makes the decisions to implement its programme?
According to the Code of Industrial Relations, which regulates the resolution of labour disputes in the context of tripartite social cooperation, the role of the state is mediating between the two sides. However, the Government of the day has the constitutional competence and political responsibility for the governance of the country, in accordance with the democratic will of the citizens which is reflected in the results of the electoral process for the election of the President of the Republic.
Social dialogue does not function in contrast to the role of the executive and legislative powers, but acts as an aid to the preservation of labour peace and the safeguarding of social justice.
In addition, because the system of labour relations in our country is based on collective bargaining and collective agreements, which presuppose the collective representation of workers and employers, I would like to note that despite the challenges and difficulties, tripartite social cooperation is an integral element of democracy and the free economy.
