Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-08-05

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

Sunday, August 5, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Engineers lash out at CY 'fat cats'

[02] UN soldier arrested after bar incident

[03] 'Ray of hope' from new talks

[04] Drugs case: six British tourists held

[05] Huge surge in the number of mobile phone users

[06] Oil talks with Syria

[01] Engineers lash out at CY 'fat cats'

CYPRUS Airways engineers, represented by the union ASYSEKA, yesterday lashed out at criticism that their demands for money make them indifferent to the company's financial health, and pointed the finger at what they call management 'fat cats'.

The union rejected a compromise deal on salaries offered by the Labour Ministry and approved by CY management on Wednesday, on the grounds that it didn't go far enough to meet their six-year demands.

They threatened wildcat strike action, until the Labour Ministry urged them to return to the negotiating table in an effort to prevent massive disruption to flights at the height of the tourist season.

CY threatened to publish their wages in an effort to exonerate them from accusations that they exploit staff unfairly.

The union said it had no objection to the publication of its members' salaries, as long as management pinpointed precisely how much money they are paid for overtime, night shifts, Sundays and bank holidays.

ASYSEKA claim that being forced to work anti-social hours, when other workers rest and spend time with their families, justifies a salary increase, in line with perks granted to shift workers across the board.

“If the company cares so much about its financial status can they say why they give raises to directors every now and then?” yesterday's union statement asked.

“Do they dare name how much more money they have taken in the last five years? Why do we have the highest proportion of managers to workers compared to other European companies? Why do directors get luxury cars plus maintenance costs, when they're already provided with a handsome salary?”

A company insider told the Sunday Mail that foreign consultants have repeatedly urged the airline to scale down its management team, many of whom only have a high school diploma.

He said management are bought company cars at great expense, because they don't qualify for duty-free vehicles.

“I don't want to make any comment. Every time they go on strike we hear so much nonsense. Senior managers in all companies have company cars. What's wrong with it?” said CY spokesman Tassos Angelis.

He said claims that management accused workers of being ill-qualified had been misinterpreted, given that ASYSEKA embraces university-education engineers alongside technical-school mechanics.

Angelis said all staff were qualified for their position, both in terms of education and company training, and dismissed claims that managers were badly educated as “stupidities”.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] UN soldier arrested after bar incident

U.N.F.I.C.Y.P. police are investigating an alleged assault on a British Bases fireman in the early hours of yesterday by a United Nations soldier outside a pub in the Larnaca suburb of Oroklini.

The incident happened at around 3am. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the UNFICYP soldier witnessed a heated argument between Kallis Kallis, a fireman resident on the Dhekelia Base, and his wife.

In an effort to separate the woman from her husband, the soldier allegedly struck Kallis in the face and around the head.

The Greek Cypriot was treated for injuries to his face and head in casualty at Larnaca General Hospital. The solider was taken to Dhekelia Police Station where UNFICYP police arrested him at 5am.

It is not yet known whether Kallis will press charges of assault.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] 'Ray of hope' from new talks

Addressing an anti-occupation demonstration organised by Famagusta Municipality in Dherynia, the Minister focused on the expected resumption of UN-sponsored proximity talks in September.

A meeting between Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and UN Secretary- general Kofi Annan in Salzburg at the end of the month is widely expected to woo the Turkish Cypriot side back to the negotiating table, without any new concessions, following the breakdown of the process last year.

Cassoulides said a new “prospect of true peace, stability and security should be created, based on international law so that all Cypriots enjoy the benefits of the future Cyprus accession to the EU”.

He also reiterated statements made by President Glafcos Clerides earlier in the week that the government is ready and willing to re-start negotiations, provided that they remain within the parameters of UN resolutions, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Union acquis communautaire.

He said that Denktash's demands for recognition of the north as an independent state had been proven to be unacceptable to Greek Cypriots, Europe and the international community.

Famagusta fell to the advancing Turkish army in mid-August, 1974, during the second offensive of the invasion launched on July 20. It has remained uninhabited ever since, and the possibility of putting the town under UN administration has been mooted in international talks.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Drugs case: six British tourists held

Two more Britons were remanded for three days in custody in the same case.

The six men, aged between 18 and 26, were arrested on Friday after police raided three flats used by the suspects and said they found 95 Ecstasy tablets and several grams of cannabis.

The police operation started shortly before noon on Friday.

Police told the court they had information that four of the suspects had brought a large quantity of Ecstasy tablets from England to sell in the popular clubbing resort.

In the first apartment police say they found two smoked joints thought to contain cannabis.

During a search in the kitchen police allegedly found 95 Ecstasy tablets stashed in a cereal box.

Three of the suspects present during the raid claimed they had nothing to do with the drugs.

In the second flat police allegedly found a piece of paper with cannabis on the floor while one Ecstasy pill along with some scattered cannabis was found in a bedroom.

In the third flat rented by the suspects police allegedly found three cannabis joints as well as a small quantity of the drug wrapped in paper.

Police say they are looking for two more men suspected of possessing a large quantity of drugs.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] Huge surge in the number of mobile phone users

THE NUMBER of mobile phone users has increased by around 70,000 in the past seven months, the Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) has revealed.

Research from the European statistics office Eurostat this week ranked Cyprus fifth among the 13 candidate countries for the number of mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants in 2000.

Cyprus had 26.2 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, while the leader Slovenia had 57.4 per cent, followed by Estonia at 32 per cent.

The European Union average was 62.6 per cent.

But according to CyTA General Manager Nicos Timotheou, Cyprus mobile phone users had now risen to around 41 per cent of the population after a surge in new subscribers in the first seven months of the year.

Timotheou said the authority's statistics last week showed that there were around 70,000 new subscribers in the first seven months of 2001 -- an average of 10,000 per month.

The numbers were boosted by the popularity of CyTA's So-easy prepaid service, which attracted around 7-8,000 new users every month, he said.

New monthly subscriptions were 2-3,000 per month.

According to Eurostat's research, Cyprus also ranked fifth for Internet use with 10.6 per cent of the population logged on.

However, it said Cyprus was the only candidate country to have recorded a drop in the number of Internet users -- from 11.7 per cent of the population in 1999 to 10.6 in 2000, Eurostat claimed.

But Timotheou cast doubt on these numbers.

He said although there was no official government research, CyTA, one of the two largest Internet providers on the island, has tripled its subscribers to the service since the end of 1999.

Spidernet, the second largest provider, said that 2000 had been its best year in terms of new Internet subscribers.

Marketing Manager Thois Themistocleous said there had been a tremendous increase in subscriptions during last year, compared with 1999.

For 2001, Themistocleous said subscriptions were increasing at a satisfactory rate, especially over the past three months.

Projections until the end of the year looked good, he added.

There are now more than 30,000 subscribers with CyTA. With the state provider holding around 50 per cent of market share, it is estimated that there are around 60,000 users, Timotheou said.

Eurostat's numbers are thought to refer to individual accounts rather than overall users.

According to Timotheou, if there are 60,000 accounts in Cyprus then there could be around 120,000 people - 20 per cent of the population - who actually use the Internet as one account could be used by more than one person.

Citing the example of a large company like CyTA, he said, it counted as a single subscriber, even though as many as 1,200 people working at the authority were Internet users.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] Oil talks with Syria

THE SYRIAN Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources Dr Mohamad Maher Jamal flies into Cyprus today for two days of talks with officials about energy.

President Glafcos Clerides will receive the Minister tomorrow, before the Syrian party open discussions with Minister of Trade and Industry, Nicos Rolandis.

Jamal and his four-member team will tour Lefkara and the Vassiliko power station on Tuesday, before returning to Damascus in the evening.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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