Turkish Cypriot unions announce general strike for April 6

Turkish Cypriot unions have announced a general strike and a protest scheduled for Monday, April 6, outside the legislative building in the occupied territories. The labor groups are protesting a government decree that effectively freezes cost-of-living allowance (COLA) adjustments. Burak Mavis of the KTOS union and Metin Atan of the Kamu-Sen union stated that the mobilizations will continue until the current administration resigns. In addition to the protest, unions along with the Republican Turkish Party have filed a legal challenge at the supreme court seeking to cancel and suspend the implementation of the decree. The unions argue that the government has failed to protect citizens from high inflation and currency volatility, citing a lack of economic planning. They specifically criticized the Minister of Finance’s statement regarding a fixed 7.07% annual wage increase, which they claim harms low-income earners and retirees. Furthermore, the unions have accused the administration of corruption, lack of transparency, and favoritism in public procurement processes.