The Plenary Session of the Parliament proceeded to amend the regulations concerning the diplomas and certificates of lifeguards in swimming pools, so that recognition by the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation is not required. Essentially, the changes voted by the Parliament seek to implement a licensing regime for lifeguard training providers similar to the one that was in force before, in order to meet the needs for properly certified persons during the tourist season.
The purpose of the regulations passed by the Parliament, which are issued under article 13 of the Swimming Pools Law, is to amend the Swimming Pools Regulations, so that recognition and/or certification by the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation is not required of diplomas and certificates granted to safety supervisors who provide lifeguard protection in swimming pools whose use is public, such as recreational pools, sports pools and hotel and tourist accommodation pools, among others.
In particular, according to a report by the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior, the regulations provide for the deletion of the interpretation of the term "lifeguard diploma or certificate", according to which, for the purpose of employing a person as a safety supervisor in swimming pools for public use, the relevant diploma or certificate must be provided by a recognized school either by the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation or by the competent authorities of a Member State of the European Union, provided that it is certified by that federation.
According to the data submitted to the committee by the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, during the implementation of the new legislative framework regarding the licensing and operation of swimming pools, this ministry made the finding that private companies are active in the field of lifeguard protection which provide lifeguard pool certificates, which, however, are not recognized in the context of the legislative framework in question.
As pointed out in the same data, these private companies have until now covered the bulk of the needs of hotel units for the recruitment of pool lifeguards. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to increase the availability of appropriately certified persons during the tourist season.
In that regard, the Regulations seek to implement a licensing regime for lifeguard training providers similar to that in force before the adoption of the new legislative framework in the field of licensing and operation of swimming pools. In addition, according to the regulations in force until today, the safety supervisor was required to hold a lifeguard certificate, a first aid certificate, a health certificate and a clean criminal record.
Finally, based on these elements, the proposed legislative regulation will be applied for a limited period of time, until the whole issue is finally settled in the context of finding a permanent and institutionally correct solution for the overall settlement of this issue.
Besides, as the intention of the Ministry of the Interior, is to promote at a later stage relevant legislation regarding the implementation of a new certification system for lifeguard training providers.
Concerns about the training of lifeguards
It is noted that during the discussion in the competent Parliamentary Committee, the representative of the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation expressed concerns and reservations regarding the deletion from the existing regulations of the interpretation of the term "lifeguard diploma or certificate", noting that a long period of time may be required for the adoption and implementation of a new certification system.
As a result, issues may arise regarding the level of training and quality of services provided by lifeguards staffing swimming pools during this transitional period.
Temporary solution with the involvement of the HRDA
The Chairman of the Interior Committee, Aristos Damianou, said that there was a distortion for several years and it was correctly identified by the competent ministry, while it is estimated that with the involvement of the Human Resources Development Authority (HRDA), the process of training and certification of lifeguards will be facilitated to deal with a chronic problem. "We keep the commitment to restore the executive power with a comprehensive bill," he added.
