Nicosia - Some 12,000 Turkish Cypriot civil servants went on strike over pay yesterday, closing schools, public offices and drastically reducing health care provision in the north of the island.
The unions want a pay rise of at least 50 per cent and measures to keep wages up with inflation, running at around 90 per cent annually. The leadership of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state is offering a 40 per cent increase.