Nicosia: Cyprus' airports and government offices shut down yesterday in a day-long strike to protest a public-sector wage freeze and other austerity measures.
The island's two airports closed after air traffic controllers said Wednesday they would stage a 12-hour work stoppage to protest what they regard as the government's broken promise not to extend a two-year wage freeze.
The airport shutdown affected more than 70 flights and 5,000 passengers, airports spokesman Adamos Aspris said.
Separately, the government worker union PASYDY said state-run hospitals would operate on a skeleton staff.
Municipal elections in the Eurozone country are slated for Sunday and could be thrown into doubt after PASYDY urged members not to work then and to avoid voting.
Cyprus' communist-rooted President Dimitris Christofias publicly appealed to union leaders to let the elections run problem-free. "With all due respect to the unions and especially PASYDY, that's too much," he said.
PASYDY called for the stepped-up strike action a day after government workers briefly walked off the job to demonstrate against not being consulted on the austerity measures.
‘Whispering campaign'
The union's boss, Glafcos Hadjipetrou, said government workers have already seen their incomes shrink by a tenth and suggested that more cuts are being discussed behind their backs.
"Today the numbers don't add up, tomorrow the numbers won't add up, and they're asking workers to cover the shortfall. This won't pass."
Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias dismissed what he called a "suspicious and dishonourable whispering campaign" that the government would move to cut government workers' Christmas bonus and tax their retirement bonus.
