Workers at the Larnaca port staged a protest on Friday morning against former port operator Kition Ocean Holdings. The protest was held over fears regarding whether they will be paid at the end of the month, and by whom, after Kition’s contract to operate the port and Larnaca’s marina was terminated by the government on Monday. Kition had then sent notice of dismissal to all its workers at the Larnaca port on Tuesday night.
The workers tore down flags bearing Kition’s name and covered the sign at the entrance to the port with a new sign bearing the ports authority’s logo instead of that of Kition. Some protesters were also carrying placards reading, “87 families on the street, why?”, “a shame and a disgrace”, and “a terrible injustice for the employees of Kition and Larnaca”.
They were also met by House President Annita Demetriou, who spoke to demonstrators outside the port and then sat down for a meeting with some of the port workers. Speaking after the meeting, Demetriou said answers “need to be given”, and called on the labour ministry to meet with the workers and offer them reassurances regarding their pay. “Of course they are worried”, she said, adding that she is “saddened beyond my imagination” that the situation has reached this point.
The protest is taking place ahead of an extraordinary meeting of the House transport committee to discuss the ongoing sequence of events. The committee has invited Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades, auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides, and representatives from Kition to attend. The government then reached a deal with the workers on Wednesday to ensure their continued employment at the port while the government searches for a new operator.
Friday marks the first time Kition have been invited to speak at the House transport committee since they failed to appear when invited to another such meeting in April. They had insisted at the time that their no-show was a “misunderstanding” and that it should not “be perceived as a sign of disrespect”, but the moment marked a step in deteriorating relations between the company and the government which led to Monday’s termination.
Looking Ahead: New Opportunities
Looking to the future of the port, Vafeades said on Thursday that Qatar had shown an interest in taking on its running, following a visit to the island by the country’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani earlier in the week. Vafeades is set to hold a meeting with the Larnaca town and district development committee on Friday afternoon, after which he will report back to President Nikos Christodoulides and draw up the government’s next steps for issuing a new tender for the port and marina’s development and management. Vafeades had said on Thursday that Christodoulides had given “clear instructions” that he wants the issue to be handled “immediately”.
