Cyprus

Organization responsible for the statistics

The statistics are collected and compiled by the Department of Labour (Industrial Relations Section) and published both by the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Department of Statistics and Research.

Objectives and users

Not available.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover: Political or protest strikes are not included in the statistics, nor are working to rule, go-slows or overtime bans.

Minimum threshold In general, duration of at least three-quarters of a day, regardless of the total worktime lost.

Economic activities

No particular branches of economic activity or sectors are excluded.

Workers

Workers directly involved and workers indirectly involved. As well as regular paid employees, the statistics cover temporary, casual and seasonal workers. As part-time work is not usual, no guidelines exist concerning their coverage. Workers absent on sick or annual leave are not included.

No particular occupational groups are excluded.

Geographic areas

Whole country.

Types of data collected

Concepts and definitions

Strike

A concerted refusal of a group of workers (employees, not self-employed) to work, because of a labour dispute or grievance.

Lockout

A refusal of an employer or a group of employers to let their employees work, because of a labour dispute or grievance.

The term strike is occasionally used loosely to include both strike as defined above and lockout; a lockout thus may be considered a form of strike.

These are working definitions used for statistical purposes, based to some extent on legal and academic definitions, both of Cyprus and other countries.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute.

A strike or lockout interrupted but later resumed, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as a continuation of the same action, particularly if recurring within the same quarter. Otherwise decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, using information supplied by the mediator.

Strikes and lockouts arising from the same case of dispute, occurring simultaneously or at different times in different establishments of the same firm or occurring simultaneously in establishments of different firms are counted as one. Those resulting from the same case of dispute but occurring at different times in establishments of different firms are usually counted as one especially if the time lapse between them is not too great.

Workers involved

The number of workers involved is counted as the maximum number of workers that did not work during the course of the stoppage, even if some workers participated for only part of the duration. If this information is not available, the number of workers involved may be measured as total employment in the economic units involved.

Duration

Duration is measured in terms of the workdays during which there was strike activity. Data on the duration of strikes and lockouts are not published.

Time not worked

Total worktime not worked is measured in terms of workdays by ascertaining the total amount of worktime not worked on each day of the strike or lockout and summing these totals. There are no guidelines for the measurement of time not worked by part-time workers. Overtime is not taken into account.

Classifications

Branch of economic activity

The statistics are classified by branch of economic activity using the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) 1968. No standard rules apply to the classification of general strikes by branch of economic activity; they are judged on a case-by-case basis.

Type of dispute

(not published)

Reference period and periodicity

The statistics are compiled for periods of a month, a quarter, six months and a year, and are published for periods of six months and a year. Information refers to strikes and lockouts occurring during the particular reference period. For those carrying over from a previous period or continuing to a subsequent reference period, information is collected and classified according to the reference period where it was the most important, i.e. the period where the greater number of days and time was not worked. In the case of long-term actions, where it is impossible whilst the strike or lockout is still on-going to attribute it to a particular reference period, it may temporarily appear in more than one reference period, to be adjusted at a later date when exact information is available.

Analytical measures

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentation

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, and Press and Information Office: Annual Report (annual);

Idem: Labour Review (six-monthly).

Data published by the ILO

The number of strikes and lockouts, the number of workers involved and the number of days not worked, by economic activity.

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

In the private sector, there is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout. The following sources and methods are used to obtain information: For the public services, each Ministry (and each public corporation answerable to a Minister) should report to the Industrial Relations Section (Department of Labour) on the strikes of their workers, according to internal administrative procedures of the public service. The following data should be reported: A standard form exists for this purpose.