The decree that brought Cypriots to the streets has been withdrawn

The decree that brought Cypriots to the streets has been withdrawn

The decree with the force of law that sparked protests in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has been withdrawn. The government presented a new proposal, which the unions rejected. President Tufan Erhürman also stated that they had not been able to reach a conclusion. The tension was ignited by the freezing of the "cost of living increase allowance" for public employees. When the government failed to pass a bill through parliament to address this issue, it resorted to issuing a "decree with the force of law," suspending the reflection of the cost of living increase in salaries on the grounds of an "economic crisis."

Following this, thousands of protesters, led by public sector unions, marched to the new parliament building, breached police barricades, and entered the parliament grounds and then the building itself. Yesterday, as the unions continued their strikes and protests, the government announced that it would "back down and withdraw the decree with the force of law," and called for a compromise.

The unions had announced that they would end the general strike if the decree with the force of law was repealed and the bill withdrawn, but that the actions would continue until an early election date was announced.

Due to the strike, schools are closed; public institutions, including municipalities, and hospitals are not providing services except for emergency services.
The decree was withdrawn
Indeed, the government withdrew the decree today (April 8). The decision was published in the Official Gazette.

It was stated that there was a need to re-evaluate the regulations in question and that the decision to withdraw the decree was made accordingly.

Installment proposal
Following the announcement, the Prime Minister of the TRNC, Ünal Üstel, offered the unions a proposal to reflect the cost of living increase in salaries in two installments, and called for a compromise. Üstel stated, “A new salary scale will be determined according to the cost of living increase rate that will be established at the end of June. 50% of this increase will be paid net, and the remaining 50% will be held in escrow to be paid no later than January 2027.”

Üstel also explained that the regulation would apply to employees earning more than 75,000 Turkish Lira, and that no citizen's income would fall below 75,000 Turkish Lira.

Normally paid in January and July, the cost of living allowance was postponed to April 2026 and January 2027 by decree.

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