War is coming, once again, in state hospitals with all that this implies for Cypriot patients.
Trade unions and OKYPY, according to information from "F", again do not seem to get along with each other regarding the renewal of collective agreements and the trade unions are now preparing for a public attack against OKYPY.
The disagreement concerns, this time, the determination of salary scales with the unions demanding their inclusion in the collective agreement, the Organization at the management level thinking about it and the board of directors answering negatively.
In addition, the amendment of the legislation (governing the operation of OKYPY) is still pending, so that salary increases are granted on an annual basis and not every three years, as is currently provided, as was agreed between the two sides in the past.
The issue on the part of the doctors of the Pancyprian Union of Government Doctors, has reached the Department of Labour Relations, while yesterday, PASYDY, PASYKI, PASYNO, SEK, PEO and DEOK held a joint meeting with each other in order to determine their next steps.
During the meeting, as we are informed, it was decided to officially request the intervention of the Government and specifically the Minister of Health, while, as representatives of the trade unions told "F", a relevant announcement is being prepared in order to make the data to date public.
The collective agreement that had been signed, it is recalled again after intense disagreements and public conflicts, reached its expiration in December 2025.
The two sides entered into a dialogue between them in order to proceed with its renewal with the trade unions demanding the inclusion of salary scales in the new contract that will cover all employees who work under a contract they signed with the Organization and are not civil servants seconded to OKYPY.
During the first meeting, the preliminary framework of the new contract was determined with the representatives of OKYPY proceeding to inform the board of directors of the Organization.
The answer given to the unions was negative, however a counter-proposal was put on the table based on which the new collective agreement would not provide for scales but would determine the start of consultation with a clear timetable until the next renewal.
Again, the response of the Organization's board of directors was negative, with the trade unions proposing the signing of a collective agreement with a two-year duration, the start and completion of a dialogue on the scales within 2027 and their inclusion in the agreement on January 1, 2028.
Once again, the council of OKYPY responded negatively with the six unions stating that there is no room for any more concessions.
It is recalled that during the consultation between the two sides for the signing of the first collective agreement in state hospitals, special emphasis was placed on the issue of linking increases with productivity and employee evaluation.
In fact, on the part of some of the unions, positions had been made about setting percentages and benefits at the levels of what applies in the wider public sector.
In the consultation that is now underway, the trade unions, as their representatives claim, have not made similar demands, while the percentages of the increases that have been proposed do not deviate from what was provided for in the contract that expired last December.
The amendment of the legislation
Based on the legislation of OKYPY, salary increases are granted to employees with a contract of the Organization every three years. This provision of the relevant legislation was even discussed in high tones in previous years until an agreement was reached and the decision to amend the law so that the increases are granted every year and not every three years.
Representatives of the trade unions told "F" that OKYPY, with a delay, prepared the relevant amendment, as a result of which the Ministry of Health delayed its submission first to the Legal Service for a legislative review and then to the Parliament for a vote. The parliamentary elections intervened and the trade unions state that only for the sake of continuing the dialogue they had not reacted in the previous period.
The involvement of the Department of Labour Relations
A basic differentiation of doctors from other trade unions concerns the formation of position structures in state hospitals. This procedure was included in the previous collective agreement following an agreement between the doctors and OKYPY.
With the expiration of the collective agreement that was in force until December 31, 2025 and the lapse of one month, PASYKI addressed a letter to the Department of Labour Relations requesting its intervention.
The Department on 28 January 2026 sent an invitation to the two sides for a joint meeting on 26 February.
Following the meeting, the Department of Labour Relations sent on March 3 a proposal for the continuation of direct negotiations between PASYKI and OKYPY for a period of two months, with the aim of achieving progress on the issue of position structures.
On March 9, PASYKI sent a letter to the Department of Labour Relations, stating that it considers that there is a violation of Article 14 of the Collective Agreement.
Subsequently, on March 16, the Department of Labour Relations replied that its role at this stage is mediating and that the dialogue process should continue. After the completion of the two-month consultation period, PASYKI returned with a new letter on May 6, in which it refers to a lack of substantial progress and asks for a new position of the Department of Labour Relations on the implementation of the Collective Agreement.
On the horizon and the financial incentives of doctors
In addition to the disagreements between trade unions and OKYPY over collective agreements, the payment of the financial incentives received by doctors in addition to their salary for the services they provide within the framework of the GHS is also pending.
As we are informed, a relevant committee has already been sent by PASYKI to OKYPY with the union noting that in order to comply with the agreements and to pay the financial incentives to the doctors at the end of June, the dialogue must be completed within the next few days.
As PASYKI states in a relevant letter to the Organization: "According to the agreement dated October 29, 2025 and in particular paragraph 4.5, the increased incentive of €6 millionU is planned to be paid annually in June of the following year.
At the same time, according to paragraph 4.3.4 of the same Agreement, the distribution of the amount to clinics and specialist doctors is the subject of consultation with the trade unions.
Therefore, in order to be able to pay the vertical incentive for the year 2025 within the June 2026 payroll, the consultation process should be completed immediately and the relevant amounts should be sent in a timely manner to the competent accounting departments of OKYPY and the state, no later than the beginning of June. Therefore, the completion of the process within May is a practical and administrative necessity."
