Filenews 23 May 2023 - by Adamos Adamou
It is expected that the training of workers in the construction sector on safety and health issues will become mandatory, based on what the Ministry of Labor promotes. This follows from what Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou said last Saturday, during the annual general meeting of the Federation of Cyprus Building Contractors Associations (OSEOK).
In his address, the minister referred to a safe-pass as a prerequisite for working in the construction industry, which will be obtained after training on safety and health issues. According to the minister's statements, this measure may be included or included later in the Action Plan for the European Year of Skills 2023, a plan that is expected to be approved soon by the Council of Ministers.
In his address to the BSEC assembly, Yiannis Panayiotou noted the importance of the construction industry for the green and digital transition, combined with the need for specialization and certification of employees, who according to government policy can constitute the strengthened Cypriot backbone of the Cypriot economy. At the same time, he pointed out that the Model Professional Qualification of the Builder will be one of the eight Model Qualifications that will be promoted by the Ministry of Labour in the framework of the European Year of Skills. He also said that the Action Plan to be submitted to the Council of Ministers "includes training on safety and health issues as a prerequisite in the form of a safe-pass for work in the construction industry".
We note that the mandatory training of new entrants to the labour market on safety and health issues, especially in the construction industry, is a long-standing demand of the trade unions, as confirmed by the general secretary of the PEO builders' union, Michalis Papanikolaou. He said the ideal would be for this safe pass, if it goes ahead, to be combined with the professional qualification standard, which the unions also insist on.
Sources close to the Ministry of Labor confirmed the intention to implement a kind of safe-pass for work in construction, saying that internal processes and social dialogue are ongoing on the issue.
In the meantime, dialogue continues regarding the renewal of the collective agreement in the construction industry, which has expired since May last year, without excluding the possibility that safety and health issues and thoughts on safe-pass may also be raised in the context of the contacts. The consultations on the contracts were also mentioned on Saturday by the president of the BSEC, Stelios Gavriel, expressing the conviction that there will be a positive outcome, while the Minister of Labour also noted the need to safeguard labour peace through social dialogue for the upgrading of labour relations, aiming at normality and stability.
