Filenews 4 March 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
A window for dealing with the lack of human resources that is presented in Cyprus seems to be opening through the crisis that has arisen from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and already recorded suggestions for the employment, with fast procedures, of citizens from Ukraine, but also Russia, who are already on the island, in an effort to facilitate financially themselves, having the ability to work.
The prospects for tourism may not be as positive as at the beginning of the year due to the Russian invasion, but the needs and planning of the majority of hotels and other businesses have not changed for the time being. Therefore, the staffing needs remain, and now, according to information from the "F", the Ministry of Labour is considering the possibility that part of the shortages in human resources will be covered by Ukrainian refugees who may arrive in our country.
More on the issue is not excluded to arise with the return of the Minister of Labour Zeta Emilianidou to her office, from which she has been away for a few days now, after she was diagnosed positive to the coronavirus. It is noted that the use of Ukrainian refugees to meet the needs in the tourism industry is something that Greece is also studying, based on what the country's Minister of Tourism stated the day before yesterday. For Greece, however, the data are clearly different, since the country is connected by road with Ukraine, from which it has already begun to accept refugees, in the first phase expatriates from Greek speakers
More on the issue is not excluded to arise with the return of the Minister of Labour Zeta Emilianidou to her office, from which she has been away for a few days now, after she was diagnosed positive to the coronavirus. It is noted that the use of Ukrainian refugees to meet the needs in the tourism industry is something that Greece is also studying, based on what the country's Minister of Tourism stated the day before yesterday. For Greece, however, the data are clearly different, since the country is connected by road with Ukraine, from which it has already begun to accept refugees, initially expatriates from Greek-speaking areas in the war zone.
OEB prepares a letter
In Cyprus, a small number of Ukrainian and Russian visitors have been trapped since the beginning of the war, due to the termination of flights to the two countries, while in the meantime several citizens of the two countries have arrived in order to find shelter to relatives or friends, due to the crisis.
In this context, as we are informed, OEB, in a letter prepared to the Minister of Interior, will request that the possibility of granting them a three-month work permit, in the first phase, without bureaucratic procedures, be considered. According to the same information, the letter to the Minister of interior, who is the minister responsible for issuing residence and work permits, is not primarily aimed at meeting the needs of human resources, but was decided on humanitarian grounds, so that those Russians and Ukrainians who are already in Cyprus and will not return to their countries anytime soon, due to the war situation, to facilitate their safe stay on the island, without additional financial problems. De facto, securing work permits for a number of Russians and Ukrainians on the island will also help meet the needs of staff who register businesses.
It is noted that, in relation to the procedures decided for the employment of staff from third countries, the meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee that examined hoteliers' requests have been completed and a relevant report is now being prepared, which will be put before the Minister of Labour. The minister will then decide whether to approve the licenses requested by each employer and what terms or safeguards will be decided, in the light of the new data caused by the war in Ukraine.
The positions of the guilds
However, on the occasion of the developments in Ukraine, SEK, through its expressive body, the Labour Voice, argued that the negative developments and the consequences created lead to the conclusion that Cyprus should be particularly careful as to how many new licenses should be granted for the employment of foreigners from third countries for the next tourist season, It is also noted that the PEO had requested due to the war a postponement of the completed process, also considering that the data are different and the needs may be different.
The position, however, of the employer side, is that the Russian invasion, despite the challenges it causes in the sensitive sector of tourism, does not negate the planning and the shortcomings presented for the reopening of hotels, insisting that the exodus of thousands of community and Cypriots from the sector, due to the pandemic, has intensified the problem that existed in recent years. As far as the procedure for examining requests from companies for the employment of foreign personnel is concerned, this will continue in the context of meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee for other sectors of the economy.
