Cyprus government to fight court's pay cut ruling

Cyprus' finance minister says authorities will act to "neutralize" an administrative court decision that declared unconstitutional cuts to government workers' salaries that were made amid a 2012 financial crisis.

Harris Georgiades told state broadcaster CyBC Saturday that the government will take legal action and pass new legislation in order to soften the impact of the "unexpected" ruling.

He said the ruling can neither take effect retroactively nor apply to all government workers. Georgiades said the monetary cost to government coffers can't be estimated until details of the ruling are sorted out.

The minister said the decision won't be allowed to financially ruin the state and the government will continue to rein in the state payroll.

Cyprus received a multibillion-euro rescue deal from international creditors in 2013.