Filenews 31 December 2021 - Adamos Adamou
The foundations for the organization of group interviews, during which an attempt will be made to match the vacancies in businesses with those who are registered unemployed, were laid by yesterday's meeting of the social partners with the director of the Department of Labour, Alexandros Alexandrou.
At the meeting, according to information provided by "F", Mr. Alexandrou informed the representatives of the trade unions and the employers' organizations that, based on the hierarchy made by the Ministry of Labour, the group interviews will concern in the first phase the needs identified in the construction industry, in the second phase those in the hotel industry, with the food sector and trade following.
Mr. Alexandrou informed that the first group interview will take place in January and will concern the coverage of the needs presented to the construction industry in the districts of Nicosia and Larnaca. Initially, as informed by the director of the Department of Labour, the space of the State Fair was chosen for the conduct of group interviews, but then the idea was abandoned, due to the operation of the vaccination centre in the area and for other practical reasons.
He informed, however, that the Ministry of Labour is already in contact with "Lefkotheo", but also with the stadium "Tassos Papadopoulos – Eleftheria", which are also located near the bus terminal, for settlement in the specific areas of the interviews, for which, as he informed, some preparation will also be required in order to arrange the appointments on a day and time that will ensure the maximum possible attendance. Specifically, the Department of Labour is expected to invite to the first meeting those employers and businesses of the construction industry who have registered more than five (5) vacancies in the districts of Nicosia and Larnaca - estimated at around 30 - and the unemployed who are registered in the specific economic activity.
Representatives of trade unions and employers' organizations will be able to supervise the whole process, as of course officials of the Department of Labour will do. As we are informed, representatives of the Egotiki organizations asked that the whole process be extended, so that it is done simultaneously for all sectors in which there are increased needs and a large number of vacancies, but the Ministry of Labour replied that in such a case it could not supervise the whole process itself, which is what is required in the whole effort.
There were, however, assurances that an attempt will be made to speed up the procedures regarding group interviews, since the Department of Labour already has previous experience, when it recently organized similar interviews, on a smaller scale, at the district work offices, for the staffing of the new shopping centre–mall – in Larnaca and Neo Plaza in Nicosia.
On the part of the trade unions, the need was raised yesterday for any new hires to be made on the basis of the agreed collective agreements, while, as mentioned, the position of the employers' organizations was that the whole process should not be delayed, since the needs, especially in the hotel industry, are pressing.
We recall that the whole exercise was decided at the last meeting of the Labour Advisory Body, in order to clarify whether the thousands of vacancies cannot be filled by the labour market, before requests for the employment of workers from third countries were considered.
