Petrides warns of uncertainty

Uncertainty is the only certain thing in the new era we are entering, said Cyprus’ Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides addressing the 14th Congress of the island nation’s Free Trade Unions of Semi-Governmental Organizations last week.

“We are entering a new era of uncertainty. The only certainty for the future is uncertainty,” said Petrides, noting that the unions, employers and the government should continue to be mindful in order to avoid “new adventures.”

Petrides said that the social dialogue started from the first day of the current government under difficult conditions, as a right-wing government was replacing a left-wing one. He said that this was an opportunity that some people were looking for to “kill trade unionism,” but the government has denied it as it fully respected the labor institutions and the provisions of social dialogue, even during the difficult times of the pandemic.

He added that the meetings between the late minister of labor, Zeta Emilianides, and the minister of finance at that time were daily and it was the good cooperation with the social partners that helped the economy emerge from the pandemic crisis.