Fact: Sotiroulla Charalambous, the general secretary of the Akel union federation Peo, discussed important Marxist ideas such as the exploitation of workers and the class struggle in an interview given on May Day.
A bicommunal event organized by the PEO and T/C trade union organizations for Labor Day in Nicosia featured messages in favor of the reunification of Cyprus and workers’ demands, as well as support for Palestine. Participants gathered at Eleftheria Square before marching towards the buffer zone stadium with Turkish Cypriot trade unions. The PEO Secretary-General emphasized the joint effort of Greek and Turkish Cypriot workers to reject division and fight for improved working conditions and wages. The PEO criticized employers for resisting institutional measures to enforce labor agreements and called on the government to take action.
The General Secretary of PEO emphasized that the organization’s priority is to seek increases in Collective Employment Agreements to improve real wages, particularly focusing on starting salaries. She criticized the government for not taxing windfall profits and called for deeper social policy measures in response to ongoing inflation and new green taxes. She proposed revisions to income criteria for allowances, extension of parental leave, creation of care infrastructure, expansion of all-day schools, multiplication of housing programs, increase in Minimum Guaranteed Income, and resolution of pension issues.