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The national corporate governance system in Cyprus assigns companies operating on the basis of the one-tier system an administrative organ (board) in which management and supervisory functions converge.
In Cyprus there are no legal rules concerning worker board-level participation. Neither in corporate governance legislation nor in industrial relations legislation has there been any formal right of worker participation at board level, and consequently it has never been compulsory in either the private or the state-owned sector.
However, in state and semi-state companies the government may give seats on the administrative board to high-level trade union officials, mainly from the confederations. This practice is not enshrined in the law, but rather a tradition of public management. Indeed, after being appointed they frequently act largely as independent personalities. Currently, the only case of workers or their representatives being able to nominate a member to a company board is in the semi-government sector, namely the Human Resources Development Authority (Arxi Anaptyxis Anthropinou Dynamikou), which deals with the funding of training and human resource activities.
Although Cyprus has no tradition of labour participation at board level, it does have a tradition of social dialogue and tripartite cooperation on a voluntary basis. In that broad sense it is possible to say that worker participation exists in Cyprus, mainly taking the form of collective bargaining and the participation of labour representatives in tripartite bodies and committees. At the workplace, Cyprus has one-channel interest representation through the trade union structure. Cyprus has one of the highest union density rates in the EU, amounting to approximately 70% of its workforce.
Source: The European Company - Prospects for worker board-level participation in the enlarged EU (edited by Norbert Kluge and Michael Stollt). Brussels 2006.
The country reports on board-level participation in the new member states are available in several languages.
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Although no specific national debate has developed regarding SE regulations and employees’ representation rights, the social partners in Cyprus have, on the way to accession and indeed since joining the EU, shown a strong interest in workers’ participation at the EU level and are making preparations to benefit from implementation of the EU acquis (EWCs, information and consultation directive, and so on).
by Dr Christos A. Ioannou
CIRN (Athens University of Economics and Business)
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(3) Transposition process
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Late in 2004 Cyprus joined the group of Member States which have transposed the SE Directive.
As regards transposition, it is worth describing the process by which social-policy and employment-related legislation is formulated.
In preparation for implementing Regulation 2157/2001 and transposing Directive 2001/86/EU, the Department of Industrial Relations at the Ministry of Labour drafted a law in the summer of 2004. The draft law was introduced for a first reading in the Tripartite Advisory Committee (Ergatiko Symvouleytiko Soma) – which incorporates the main social partner representatives – early in September 2004.
After going through the Tripartite Advisory Committee the draft law was submitted for scrutiny by the legal service and a proposal was subsequently submitted to the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers endorsed the draft law and forwarded it to the Parliament. The Law was accepted in one of the last parliamentary sessions of 2004.
by Dr Christos A. Ioannou
CIRN (Athens University of Economics and Business)
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So far, SEs and workers’ participation have not given rise to specific research activities, although they have been on the training agenda of social partner seminars aimed at promoting implementation of the acquis communautaire.
by Dr Christos A. Ioannou
CIRN (Athens University of Economics and Business)
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(5) Other relevant information (Info-Box)
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Further information on developments in the areas of employment, social policy and industrial relations in Cyprus can be found on the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance’s website, at http://www.msli.gov.cy
by Dr Christos A. Ioannou
CIRN (Athens University of Economics and Business)
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