President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday said that the government is continuously implementing targeted social policies to address rising living costs in response to demands raised by pensioners during demonstrations held outside the finance ministry on Monday and Thursday.
Speaking ahead of a conference at the University of Cyprus, Christodoulides highlighted the measures taken since the start of his administration.
“In the 19 months of our governance, we have repeatedly addressed this issue of inflation through specific, targeted government decisions,” he said.
He also acknowledged the concerns of pensioners, large families, and single-parent households, stressing that the government’s decisions are always targeted to meet the challenges faced by these groups.
Addressing the issue of a 12 per cent reduction in pensions, which is currently under review by the government, Christodoulides explained that it is important to identify who originally made the decision for these cuts.
“It’s worth examining who decided on this 12 per cent pension cut because I’ve heard statements on the matter that need context,” he said.
“I reiterate, the government, through responsible fiscal policy, which is evident in the continuous upgrades, enables us to pursue targeted social policies.”
The demonstration on Thursday followed the Union of Cypriot pensioners’ (Ekysy) annual conference, which took place at trade union Peo’s headquarters in Nicosia.
A memorandum outlining the pensioners’ issues was approved during the protest and will be personally delivered to the President.
The memorandum addressed long-standing issues faced by retirees, many of which have been raised with both the current and previous administrations but remain unresolved.
Ekysy secretary-general Costas Skarparis specifically criticised the government for cutting a €50 allowance for low-income pensioners during a period of high inflation and heatwaves, as well as ending electricity subsidies and the zero VAT rate on essential goods.
Another major concern highlighted in the memorandum is the high cost of medicines, which pensioners must purchase through the national health scheme Gesy.
