More than half of former President Donald Trump’s flagship policy proposals are unpopular with voters, according to a recent poll.Abolishing the Department of Education, cutting corporate taxes and giving the president more control over the civil service and independent federal agencies were amongst the least popular elements of Trump’s so-called Agenda 47. Only nine out … Read more
The police branch of the independent union of public employees, Asdyk, expressed dissatisfaction with the finance ministry’s decision to calculate compensation for police officers working during the upcoming elections on June 9 based on the A3 civil service pay scale, which would result in lower payment for the officers.
Cyprus has managed to promote important reforms and launch public investments through the Recovery Plan, with more than 40 sponsorship projects announced. The amount available through the sponsorship projects is €460 million. The country has received €262 million from the European fund, with additional tranches expected to be disbursed later this year.
Unions representing public hospital nurses demanded the hiring of another 170 nurses due to staff shortages. Public hospitals are always short-staffed, with significant shortages caused by retirements, transfers, and staff on leave. Private hospitals have more flexible working conditions and can service the same number of beds with a third of the nurses. The health ministry and Okypy should focus on making better use of hospital staff rather than hiring more nurses. Some nurses are seconded to other parts of the public sector and not performing nursing duties, contributing to the staffing shortage.
Cypriots are pessimistic about the future, the economy, and geopolitical crises, but maintain trust in European institutions and the single currency. The two traditional political parties, DISY and AKEL, are expected to dominate the upcoming elections for members of the European Parliament, mayors, and councillors. DISY is in the lead for the election of the six MEPs with 20%, followed by AKEL with 19%.
The Internal Audit Service accused the auditor-general of serious negligence and conduct unbecoming in connection to a report he released, stating that he violated auditing principles and standards by not meeting with auditees before publishing findings. The agency also claimed that the Commissioner of Internal Audit took immediate action in response to allegations of conflict of interest and communicated this to the auditor-general, who still went ahead and published his report without considering this information.
The auditor-general has called on the cabinet to investigate the commissioner of Internal Audit for possible dereliction of duty, as she allegedly did not properly handle allegations of conflict of interest in her department.
The government of Cyprus is proposing new regulations to standardize sick leave in the public sector, reducing annual sick leave from 42 to 28 days and sick days without a doctor’s certificate from 8 to 6. Unions are opposing these changes and calling for broader consultations, which the government believes will prevent the regulations from being updated or standardized. The government argues that the abuses of sick leave entitlement are costly to the taxpayer and should be addressed through imposition of regulations rather than prolonged dialogue with unions.
The government is addressing increases in the retail price of fuel with targeted measures and by strengthening the incomes of the middle class. The government had implemented a blanket fuel tax subsidy last year, but elected not to extend it past the end of last month. A forthcoming “green tax” will be implemented later this year, potentially adding eight cents per litre to the retail price of fuel. The government is also looking to address the issue of multiple pensions for high-level government officials, aiming to replace them with a one-time lump sum payment. Changing the constitution to address multiple pensions is not an option as it would require the consent of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Fact: Plans are being made to abolish the practice of paying multiple pensions to government officials in Cyprus.