Talks continue as Okypy workers prepare for two-day strike

Consultations between the State Health Services Organisation (Okypy) and six trade unions are continuing ahead of a planned 48-hour strike by employees on November 10 and 11. The unions, Pasyidy, SEK, PEO, DEOK, Pasyki and Pasyno, postponed a press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon due to ongoing meetings with Okypy. The talks are aimed at resolving outstanding labour issues and averting planned industrial action. Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Sunday, Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaou said the organisation was ready to discuss and explain its positions to all parties involved. “The organisation’s priority is its people, its staff and their wellbeing,” he said. Charilaou said substantial progress had been made during consultations on issues directly affecting employees’ working conditions and daily lives, including teleworking, annual leave and schemes of service. He added that efforts were also underway to resolve outstanding matters arising from the previous collective agreement, including the introduction of salary scales and the development of organisational structures for all categories of staff. The unions have yet to announce whether the progress made during the talks will be sufficient to avert the strike. The dispute centres on the failure to fully implement provisions of the collective agreement that expired in 2025, particularly salary scales and staffing structures, as well as disagreements over its renewal for 2026–2027. The unions announced the strike after negotiations reached a deadlock over how salary scales would be implemented from 2028. The agreement covers approximately 1,600 employees, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and administrative and technical staff. The unions said emergency and life-threatening cases would continue to be covered during the strike. In a further development, Okypy called on the unions on November 1 to reconsider the strike, arguing that there was still room for negotiations. One of the main sticking points is a proposal to link part of annual salary increases to employee performance assessments. Okypy has argued that such a system would allow staff contributions to be recognised more fairly. In addition nurses’ trade unions have insisted that collective labour agreements protecting the rights and benefits of both existing and future nursing staff, including those recruited from abroad, are non-negotiable. In a joint statement following the House health committee on October 30 discussion on proposed legislative amendments concerning the employment of nurses from third countries, SEK, PEO, Pasydy and Pasyno reiterated their position that staffing needs could be met by Cypriot nurses.