Filenews 14 September 2023 - by Adamos Adamou
SEK calls for the need to re-evaluate all employment policies because, as it argues, "the Cypriot labour market has become an unfenced vineyard with all that this entails for labour relations in Cyprus".
SEK's Professional Office concluded the finding on vineyard unfenced in a recent long session, which dealt with the study and evaluation of data existing in all sectors of economic activity.
According to SEK's expressive organ, "Workers' Voice", it was concluded from the presentation of data and data that "in the labour market there is serious deregulation, which consists mainly in the non-observance of collective agreements, in the existence of pirate employers, mainly subcontractors In the construction industry, which have nothing to do with the application of standard operating rules, rules on safety and health issues are missing from several areas, while the measure on the employment of foreign workers from third countries and also on the exploitation of the possibility of employing asylum seekers to the level of illegality has been lost.
In particular, SEK adds, after the unilateral review of the Strategy made by the previous government at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers, the situation with the employment of foreigners has got out of hand.
According to the guild, "serious problems arise in the hotel and construction industry, in the dairy industry (where there are several business units employing almost only foreign workers), in leisure centers, in the bakery industry, in cleaning crews and in distributors."
Proposals and measures
In view of the above, SEK calls on the Government and especially the Ministry of Labour to proceed to a complete reassessment of all aspects of employment policy, as follows:
- Re-regulate the policy regarding asylum seekers.
- To re-study and fundamentally revise the strategy for employing workers from third countries, taking into account what the trade union movement has so far submitted in writing to the Government, e.g. linking the strategy with the immigration policy that the new Government wishes to follow.
- Increase controls and inspections to combat undeclared work.
No contract for the construction of public works should be given to companies that do not have a collective agreement with the established trade union movement. This proposal will be a springboard and an effort to extend the application of the institution of collective agreements in order to cover all employees.
Contracts for all, PEO also asks
The extension of collective agreements is the solution proposed by PEO, not only to address deregulation in the labour market but also to address the phenomenon of instrumentalization of migrant workers.
PEO, according to "Ergatiki Vima", has long been trying to put the debate on foreign workers on a correct and rational basis and to stop the phenomenon of creating artificial enemies among workers.
In a relevant report hosted in "Ergatiki Vima", PEO General Secretary Sotiroulla Charalambous proposes, among other things, a review of the strategy for employing foreign workers, proper analysis and study of the needs in human resources, education and training of the unemployed and extension of collective agreement coverage.
Regarding the latter, it states that the terms of contracts should be mandatory for everyone, whether Cypriots, EU or third countries.
