The employees of the Famagusta District Transport Organization (OSEA) will go on strike tomorrow, Monday 27 January.
The decision of the employees was taken during their extraordinary meeting last Friday on the occasion of the agreement of the Ministry of Transport with another consortium on the issue of public transport in the province of Famagusta. The employees expressed fears about their employment status with the new consortium and the way it operates, while they demand that their rights be secured for the next ten years.
What will happen with the student itineraries
At the meeting it was decided “that the employees of the company go on strike on Monday, January 27, 2020, after the completion of the morning student itineraries which will be carried out normally. The employees will then go to Nicosia and at 09.00 they will gather outside the Administrative Court where on Wednesday the appeal of OSEA against the new consortium will be examined, while on Monday a similar request of the Intercity Buses will be examined ".
According to information from Famagusta.News, this means that the morning student itineraries will take place normally and it depends on the contacts they will have with the Ministry of Transport and the unions, whether they will extend their work stoppage at noon or on other days. It is noted that the employees of the company are ready to extend the work stoppage until Wednesday, the day when the appeal of OSEA against the consortium MLKP (Malta Lines - Kapnos Airport Shuttle) which will prevail in the contracts for transport for 2020-2030.
It adds that "the gathering outside the Administrative Court will take place symbolically in support of their employers. "If on Monday the result of the decision of the Administrative Court is negative to the request of the Intercity Buses and consequently of OSEA, then the employees are ready to take more dynamic measures, with an indefinite work stoppage".
Employee requests
The representative of OSEA employees, Pavlos Barnabas, stated, according to the announcement, that the main request of the staff is to secure its rights from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Labor for the next ten years. Information is also requested on the way the company operates and on whether what has been made public to reduce the company's fleet is valid.
He also noted that "OSEA was set up not only by the owners but also by the employees themselves, as it consists of drivers from all over the province of Famagusta, making it a company that literally belongs to its province". He added that there were many problems from the first day of operation of the company and public transport, which were solved jointly by owners and employees, but without the workers ever going on any strike.
Mr. Barnabas "called on the Administrative Court and the Ministry of Transport to reconsider the award of the bids and to appreciate the experience and support of the local community which is expressed through the work of the company and the employees of OSEA".
What does the Ministry of Transport answer?
The Director General of the Ministry of Transport in his statements expressed his surprise for the decision of OSEA employees to stop working, as, as he stated, the decision is in the hands of the Administrative Court and not the Ministry, while he stressed that a meeting with representatives of the unions and the employees of the company.
The new contract before the Court
With the main legal argument of non-fulfillment of the condition provided for the required professional experience, the company (Transportation Organization of the Province of Famagusta) OSEA attempts before the Administrative Court to prove that the award of the new public transport contract in the province of Famagusta (Famagusta) - Kapnos Airport Shuttle) is legally ill and should therefore be canceled. The Administrative Court examines with express procedures the appeals submitted by the existing contractors of the provinces after the award of the new contracts by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works with OSEA requesting the annulment of the state decision. OSEA's action is based, inter alia, on the argument that neither member of the consortium that won the contract meets the condition of the tender for the required years of experience in public transport.
Bidders were required to document the provision of Public Passenger Transport by buses with a specific size of bus fleet for a continuous period of at least five (5) years, or intermittent periods within a period of 20 years with the sum of the duration of similar contracts, with individual continuous duration of at least 2 years, which adds up to at least 10 years of experience.
The position of OSEA Legal Advisers is that neither Kapnos Airport Shuttle nor Malta Lines meet this condition. Kapnos argues that 11 years of continuous experience (from 2008 to 2019 as claimed by Kapnos) has not been proven, as, according to the plaintiffs, any licenses held by Kapnos were canceled in 2010, with the application of the amended legislation. OSEA's position is that Kapnos, on the one hand, did not hold the required permits for the required period of time, on the other hand, the permits it obtained at a later stage are not public transport permits, but regular route (airport) permits.
OSEA also claims that Kapnos did not fulfill the condition provided for the documentation of its professional experience with a certificate from a competent public authority since the contract is with the public, but was limited to a certificate from the director of the company that was accepted, as stated in the appeal. For Malta Lines, the state accepted the position of the Spanish company that it draws the required 5 years of experience from its subsidiary "Malta Public Transport", which is said to be contracted with the public in Malta for 20 years. However, according to OSEA, this position has been suffering since Malta Public Transport became a subsidiary of Malta Lines in December 2014.
Therefore, according to the legal advisors of OSEA, Malta Lines can borrow the experience of its subsidiary, but this can only be done for the period that it is a subsidiary, which is from December 2014 to October 2019 when The tender for public transport in Cyprus was submitted. This period is less than the required 5 years, according to OSEA.
Famagusta.News