Pancyprian Federation of Labour
Encyclopedia
PEO, the Pancyprian Federation of Labour , is an umbrella organization
for trade union
s in Cyprus
.
It was instrumental in the 1948 strikes in the mines of the Cyprus Mines Corporation
and has been closely related to AKEL.
When AKEL was declared illegal by the British colonial government of Cyprus
in 1955, PEO and especially its leader Andreas Ziartides was the only legal leftwing political entity and it was expressing the politics of underground AKEL.
PEO had a membership from all ethnic groups in Cyprus. In 1958 the Turkish Cypriot nationalistic organisation TMT
launched a terror campaign against Turkish Cypriot
members of PEO, killing the journalist Fazil Onder
and attempting to kill the head of PEO's Turkish bureau, Ahmet Sadi. Following those events, most Turkish Cypriots left the union, and PEO's members since then have primarily been Greek Cypriots
.
The PEO is affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions
.
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
for trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
It was instrumental in the 1948 strikes in the mines of the Cyprus Mines Corporation
Cyprus Mines Corporation
The Cyprus Mines Corporation was an early twentieth century American mining company based in Cyprus. In 1914, Charles G. Gunther began prospecting in the Skouriotissa area after reading in ancient books that the island was rich in copper and noticing promising ancient Roman slag heaps in the area....
and has been closely related to AKEL.
When AKEL was declared illegal by the British colonial government of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in 1955, PEO and especially its leader Andreas Ziartides was the only legal leftwing political entity and it was expressing the politics of underground AKEL.
PEO had a membership from all ethnic groups in Cyprus. In 1958 the Turkish Cypriot nationalistic organisation TMT
Turkish Resistance Organization
The Turkish Resistance Organisation was a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation formed by Rauf Denktaş and Turkish military officer Rıza Vuruşkan in 1958 as a defence organisation to counter the Greek Cypriot Fighter's Organisation EOKA....
launched a terror campaign against Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks and members of the Turkish-speaking ethnolinguistic community of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, whose Ottoman Turkish forbears colonised the island in 1571...
members of PEO, killing the journalist Fazil Onder
Fazıl Önder
Fazıl Önder was a Turkish Cypriot journalist who fought for peace between communities in Cyprus.-Biography:Önder was born in Omorphita in 1926. He finished primary school but was unable to attend secondary school for financial reasons. At a young age, he started working in a saddle shop as an...
and attempting to kill the head of PEO's Turkish bureau, Ahmet Sadi. Following those events, most Turkish Cypriots left the union, and PEO's members since then have primarily been Greek Cypriots
Greek Cypriots
Greek Cypriots are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community at 77% of the population. Greek Cypriots are mostly members of the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity...
.
The PEO is affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions
World Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
.