Filenews 10 April 2025 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Travelling lifeguards and not permanent ones in every swimming pool, especially for small pools, are called for by PASYXE, which also considers that it is an exaggeration to have a lifeguard in swimming pools of 60 square meters.
PASYXE recommends that lifeguards be placed in swimming pools of a much larger area. On the issue of the appointment of traveling lifeguards, reactions were caused on the grounds that even if the lifeguard is absent for a minimum of time, an incident may arise that will require the presence of a lifeguard.
The references were made during a discussion of a bill that modernizes the existing legislation regarding swimming pools.
PASYXE said that in order to comply with the promoted legislation, those involved in the tourism industry will need 1,000 lifeguards and wondered where they will find them, given that they do not exist in Cyprus. On this particular issue, he said that lifeguards must either be Cypriots or European citizens, which is a problem.
Commenting on relevant provisions of the legislation, a representative of PASYXE remarked that it is like placing a police officer every ten kilometers on intercity roads in order to avoid road accidents. He also wondered if the increased number of police officers will eliminate accidents.
In addition to the above, PASYXE also raised the issue of privacy in the sense that in a space with 5-6 rooms, you can go out with someone to sit in the pool and a lifeguard sits opposite you, as the bill provides.
On the part of the CMO, Mrs. Paschalina Magneti said that based on the provisions of the legislation, the cost of the CMO for the supervision of its own pools will increase by €1.3 million.
