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Bus drivers in Nicosia and Limassol have decided to strike in protest against wage cuts and unpaid salaries.

In Nicosia, the strike started on January 2nd, and the strike in Limassol is set for 24 hours on January 4th.

According to bus service OSEL, drivers are on strike because they have not received their December salaries. Minister of Communications and Works Efthymios Flourentzos said he is investigating what happened to the money, which was paid by the state.

In comments to Sigma TV, he said that there was a question of what happened to the public money and that he has demanded accounts from OSEL.

The government will deposit 1.5 million euros to pay bus drivers their back salaries and benefits for the period of October - December, he said.

In Limassol, bus drivers are protesting a 30 percent paycut imposed as of December, and there will be no buses on January 4th, said trade union SEK.

Budget cuts and austerity measures started late last year amid a cash flow problem and rising deficit, estimated at 6.7 percent of GDP for 2011.

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