Workers Forum APRIL 2019

APRIL 2019

NO. 2

“Together for reunification and work with rights” Honouring the Labour Day, fighting for peace and labour rights

Workers are celebrating the International Day of Fight and Solidarity for workers, the Red Labour Day, through movements in all the districts of free Cyprus.

PEO has already started the Pancyprian big campaign for the Labour Day with the slogan “Together for reunification and work with rights” through meetings at workplaces and houses.

For Cyprus’ workers, the International Day of class-oriented solidarity is a day of reassurance of their stable focus to the fight for reunification of the country and the people. This is a day of reassurance of the fight for social justice. For one more time, PEO along with the T/C Trade Unions belonging

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to the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), DEV-IS, kTAMS, KTOS, KTOEOS, BES, KOOP-SEN and DAU-SEN jointly organize a common fighting celebration in Nicosia to celebrate the Labour Day in the area of Ledra Palace in the dead zone.

Nicosia PEO (central event) Wednesday 1st May - 5:00 p.m. Gathering at Eleftheria Square.

- PEO S.G. Pambis Kyritsis is the speaker.

- Greeting speech by AKEL S.G., Andros Kyprianou.

- March in the Central streets of the city ending at the field of the dead zone (Ledra Palace).

- Meeting and unification with the march of T/C Syndicates and joint celebration for the Labour Day. - Artistic programme with the participation of Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot artists.

Limassol PEO, Wednesday 1st May - 10.15 a.m. Gathering at Limassol Peo building.

- 10:45 a.m. March from the building of Limasol PEO to the central streets of the city ending at the square in front of the Enaerios pier.

- Speecy by D.S. of Limassol PEO, Demetris Christodoulou - Artistic programme.

Paphos PEO, Wednesday 1st May - 10.00 a.m. Gathering at Paphos PEO building.

- Speech by D.S. of Paphos PEO, Neofytos Assos.

- March in the central streets of the city.

- Artistic program at PEO building.

Famagusta PEO, Wednesday 1st May - 9.30 a.m. Gathering at Famagusta PEO building in Paralimni. - Speech by D.S. of Famagusta PEO, Evangelos Evangelou. - March in the central streets of Paralimni. - Artistic program Larnaca PEO, Wednesday 1st May - 10.00 a.m. Gathering at Larnaca PEO Building.

- 10.30 a.m. March in the central streets of the city ending at Finikoudes square.

- Speech by the D.S. of Larnaca PEO, Marios Pratziotis.

- Artistic programme.

There will also be gathering in many workplaces as well as in many communities.

Guaranteeing protection of Collective Agreements

PEO expressed its concern about the current situation in hotels regarding the rights and the salaries of the hotel employees. This concern was transferred to the Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios, by the representatives of PEO, S.G. Pambis Kyritsis and Hotel Employees Union S.G., Lefteris Georgiades, in a meeting they had on 20 February.

At first, PEO S.G. wished good luck to Mr. Perdios for the hard project he has undertaken by also submitting the memo with the positions of PEO on the most important issues of the hotel employees.

P. Kyritsis expressed to the Deputy Minister of Tourism the concern of PEO about the current situation in hotels showing that according to the last official data of the Statistical Service, the salaries in the Hotel Industry are the lowest ones (in average) from all the economic sec-

the staff working at hotels is among his priorities and he was committed to work for the improvement of labour conditions as well as of the image of the profession that has been struck for the last years.

He also noted that there are already some thoughts and soon a special committee will be established regarding hospitality in the Tourism Industry of Cyprus and which will focus on the employees. His intention, as he said, is for the Trade Union side to also participate in this.

Memo of PEO for the Deputy Minister of Tourism

Below, the memo submitted submitted by the representatives of PEO to the Deputy Minister of Tourism is published: “As PEO, in spite of our disagreement with the dissolution of CTO, we have always been supporting the establishment of a separate Deputy Ministry for Tourism, due to the size of the sector, its significance for the whole economy, but mainly because it would facilitate the procedures for strategic planning of the Touristic

Meeting between PEO and Deputy Minister of Tourism

tors. The low salaries in combination with the deregulated labour relations and the seasonality at hotels do not contribute in upgrading the quality of the provided services and affect the tourist product, as shown by PEO S.G., asking Mr. Perdios to focus on this issue.

Simultaneously, PEO S.G. indicated the need for guaranteeing protection of the implementation of the collective agreements and the rights of the employees, which is a major issue for PEO. “The chaos in the Hotel Industry cannot be continued”, as mentioned by PEO S.G. PEO S.G. also expressed the disagreement of PEO for the bill regarding the establishment and operation of hotels that is at the Parliament for voting, declaring to the Deputy Minister that if this is to be voted as it is, there will be labour turbulence as some provisions violating current rights of the employees. He asked from the Deputy Minister to recall the bill in order to have a structured and essential dialogue with the participation of the Unions and to be submitted at the Parliament again in an agreed framework “and not to be made-tomeasure for some hoteliers”, as he characteristically said. He also commented on the paradox of the Interior Minister submitting a bill regarding the Tourism Industry just a few days before undertaking the duties of the Deputy Minister of Tourism.

On his behalf, the Deputy Minister of Tourism said that

Translation of texts: Natasa Miltiadous Chief Editor: Andriana Michael Νewspaper Director: Lefteris Georgiades Pagination: Lakis Nicolaou

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Development in our country.

Due to the anthropocentric character of Tourism, we are sure that you would also agree with us that the human force employed in Tourism and especially in the Hotel and Catering Industry, is a key to the success of any plans carried out.

Thus, we consider necessary, apart of our more general interest about the touristic issues of our country and by the chance of our meeting, to present those issues regarding the tourism and the employees in the Hotel Industry, hoping that with your contribution and help the best solutions will be promoted and given.

1. We express our concerns for the rapid increase of beds in the last years. This situation somewhat reminds of the uncontrolled development in 1980s and the issues of no infrastructures and human resources.

We recommend that any development must be strictly controlled and full comply with the political planning of development of our touristic product and not to be based only on temporary advantageous circumstances.

2. Due to the rapid increase in beds, significant needs in human force arise. We do not agree with the intensive pressures of the hoteliers’ associations for granting work permit to human force from third countries.

We believe that there is not real lack of staff, if thousands of unemployed both in Cyprus and in Europe, are taken into account.

There must be questions about why the available labour force does not choose the Hotel Industry for employment.

We believe that the reason is the obvious deregulation of labour relations in the sector, the violation of the Collective Agreement and the unacceptable employment terms offered.

This is also certified by the last data of a research of the Statistical Service where it is noted that the salaries in the Hotel Industry, in average, are the lowest from all the economic sectors.

We believe that it is the state’s obligation, under the specific conditions we live, to adopt the claim of the Trade Union Movement for guaranteeing the implementation of the Collective Agreements.

This will restore the balance of forces, especially in the sensitive sector of tourism, it will offer the necessary motifs for introduction of the unemployed in the Tourism Industry and it will simultaneously fight the competition between the businesses, which offers nothing to anyone.

We must clarify that such a development, namely granting a work permit to employees from third countries, will further promote the deregulation and the exploitation of labour, it will exercise even more pressure on all the employees’ rights and not only on the rights of the foreigners and thus it will not leave us indifferent but we will react dynamically.

3. These days, the new bill on establishment and operation of Hotels as well as the relevant regulations are at the Parliament for voting.

Despite the fact that the abolished law and the regulations provide for the basic rights of employees, however it was not considered necessary to ask for our

opinion, at any stage of the negotiations, about the suggested changes.

We believe that the suggested law and regulations do not contribute in or help the strategic aim of the qualitative tourism but they lead to the flattening and downgrading of our touristic product. We consider more appropriate, as you are the new Deputy Minister of Tourism, to ask for the bill to be withdrawn and to be re-examined within the frameworks of the imposed social dialogue with the social partners of tourism.

In case we are not listed, we will be limited to the call to help from your position as to keep in the new law the article 12 (1) of the abolished law and to delete from the regulations in article 11 the provision of the hoteliers’ right for leasing or sub-renting restaurants, bars and other places to third parties, foreign to the business.

Such a thing leads to the full deregulation of labour relations in the hotels’ sector and it endangers the guaranteed rights of employees, as also their work itself.

4. We recommend for the ranking criteria in categories for the hotels to also include regulations regulating the number of staff imposed to be employed in all the departments of the hotel, according to its category, its capability for beds and other offered services and facilities for its clients”.

While the Building Contractors’ Associations Federation rejected the agreement made before the Mediating Service of the Labour Ministry for the Construction industry, obliging the Unions to go on strike, the data of

In total, 5,332 building permits were issued by the municipal authorities and the district administrations during the period January – October 2018 compared to 4,817 during the respective period of the previous year, according to the data published by Cyprus Statistical Service.

The total value of these permits was increased by 38.1% and the total area by 27.0%. The number of residential units presented an increase of 29.3%.

The number of building permits issued in October 2018 was at 630, in relation to 588 issue in the previous month.

The total value of these permits was at €188 million and the total area was 160.5 thousand square meters.

The data clearly show that in the Construction Industry the profits are increasing while the companies are trying to keep the workers’ salaries the same and further struck their benefits.

Increase in construction turnover…but salaries remain the same

the Statistical Service show that the work cycle is increased.

Solidarity of Venezuela’s people

By responding to the call of the World Federation of

Trade Unions (WFTu), PEO leadership expressed its

solidarity to Venezuela’s people in a symbolic way.

Specifically, by holding a poster, the members of the

Executive Council of PEO claimed from the imperialists

to not intervene in Venezuela and to let people decide

by themselves for their present and future without foreign interventions.

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Everything you need to know about the General Health System

The request for a Total General Health Scheme that provides full medical treatment to all has been one of the oldest claims of PEO. It is worthy mentioning that PEO started claiming for the implementation of the General Health Scheme during the same time that it was claiming for the creation of the Social Insurance Scheme.

The last disagreements in the face of the implementation of the GHS in the new year, create concerns for people.

Simultaneously, the fact that the public hospitals have been left unmaintained in the last years by the current government, the big cuts on funds for the public health, have created tragic situations for people that do not have the financial ability to appeal to the private sector.

In other words, this is about the great majority of Cypriots.

services based on their needs in the General Health System.

Who are the beneficiaries of the General Health System?

Among the countries with the biggest inequalities in the health sector

Every person that has his/her permanent residence in the free areas are he/she is: - Cypriot citizen.

- E.U. Citizen practicing paid work and/or other form of work in Cyprus, or has his/her permanent residence in Cyprus and the dependent members of these people.

- Foreigner from a third country that has acquired right to permanent residence in Cyprus as well as his/her dependent members of his/her family since they have legal right to reside in Cyprus.

- Foreign employees from a third country that have a work permit.

- Recognized political refugees and the dependent members of their family.

Family members are the husband/wife and the children under 21 years old or those financially dependent by the family.

It must be clarified that all the citizens no matter if they work and have income are entitled to health services provisions by the GHS, as well as students, long-term unemployed people, young people that have finished their studies and cannot find work, are entitled to receive health services from the General Health System.

Which health services are covered • Health care by personal doctors • Health care by special doctors • Medicines • Laboratory examinations • Inpatient health care • Health care in cases of accident and emergencies • Transportation by ambulance • Health care by nurses, midwives, clinical psychologists, clinical dieticians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists.

• Preventive dental health care.

• Palliative health care and medical rehabilitation

According to the official statistical data of the European Union, Cyprus is one out of the two countries of the EU that show the biggest inequalities in the health sector.

“When we talk about widening of social inequalities, one sector which present augmenting of social inequalities is the health sector because at the moment the ability of the Cypriot citizen, especially of the working one, the vulnerable one, the low-paid one to receive full and qualitative health services is related to his/her economic ability. This leads to the fact that those who don’t have the economic ability to buy health service when

PEO asks for the time schedules to be kept

We are at the final stage for the implementation of the General Health Scheme. PEO insists that the GHS can and must be implemented as planned and within the time schedules specified: -March 2019: Start of contributions payment.

-June 2019: The patients will receive services of primary care.

-June 2020: Full operation of the System.

they need them and to the range they need them, they are forced to appeal to the public sector, which cannot satisfy these needs in the last years due to the frugality policies followed by Anastasiades-DISY government.

This by itself creates inequality to citizens’ access to the premium good of health”, as stated by PEO Deputy S.G., Sotiroula Charalambous.

Basic principles The basic principles on which the Law of 2001 is based and on which the social partners and all the political forces have agreed after many discussions, are the followings: -Universal Coverage: It will cover all the population and secondly through the General Health Scheme the citizen-insured person will get all those services and coverages required in the field of medical treatment.

-Social solidarity and Equality in access: Everybody contributes based on their incomes and receive

How the beneficiary will get services from the system

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-By the operation of GHS, each person will freely choose his/her personal doctor.

-Every personal doctor can have up to 2500 people in his/her list.

The citizen will be able to be served by any pharmacy he/she desires.

-In case that a person wants to get another medicine than the one on the list, he/she will pay the difference.

What Co-payments are and the cases where they are implemented: The beneficiary pays for small amounts of co-payment during services by specialist doctors, laboratories, pharmacies, nurses, midwives, other health professionals and ER, for example €1 per medical product, €1 per laboratory examination, €6 per visit to a specialist doctor. It is noted that access to personal doctors and in-patient healthcare is free.

The annual limit of co-payments per person is: • Low-income pensioners: €75 • Recipients of Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI): €75 • Children: €75 • Rest of the population: €150

-When someone has a medical problem, he/she will visit his/her personal doctor.

-According to the type of problem, the personal doctor will send the patient to get the appropriate treatment.

-The referral to the specialist doctor e.g. cardiologist, orthopedist etc will be carried out by the personal doctor.

-The choice of the special doctor that someone will visit is free.

The personal doctor does not decide about the name of doctor that the person will choose.

-Children up to 18 years old will directly go to the pediatrician, who is considered as personal doctor.

-Women will go straight to the gynecologist for gynecological issues.

-Access to medicines will be after prescriptions by the personal doctor or by the specialist one. There will be a list of medicines that will be covered by the General Health System.

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Ιllegal work permits against employees

The Secretary-Generals of PEO and SEK made a complaint showing that the Government faces the issues related to the labor issues impassively. The complaint regarded the illegal granting of work permit to employees from third countries. The issues regarding the employment of employees from third countries and the way in which permits are granted, are governed by

out by the competent committee, in which the Trade Unions used to participate. Granting the relevant permits was carried out though dialogue and in such a way in order not to act against the Collective Agreements and against the benefits of the other employees of the sector. Now, we can see that the Government, within the frameworks of their political philosophy for the deregulation of the labor relations, disdain the work of the committee and they grant work permits illegally and without exhausting all the spaces for finding labor force. The permits were granted, supposedly for employment of “specialized staff, while the employees are employed in specialties for which there were employees available from the unemployment list. It is worthy noting the fact that the company that secured the permits, it had dismissed employees, sending them to the Redundancy Fund before.

The issue that arouse is serious and if it is not solved, the Trade Union Movement will react dynamically. We will send the clear message, that the procedures must be respected by all and in no case, these must be surpassed and violated against the employees and the society in general. The development, used as an excuse by the Government, must be made in the correct way in order to leave some benefits for the society and not to have development in such a way that just a few businessmen will be benefitted.

a specific procedure, which the competent authorities in the specific case, surpassed and granted illegal work permits by the easiest method. It isn’t possible for a sector such as the construction one, which was struck by unemployment in the last years, to surpass the procedures. All these years and especially when the Construction sector was in full development, granting work permits to third-world country employees, was carried

Racism and discriminations in workplaces

Representatives of PEO, headed by the S.G., Pambis Kyritsis, met with representatives of KISA at PEO House for information and to exchange opinions about the findings of Shaowdow Report of ENAR (European Network Against Racism) “Racism and Discriminations in Employment in Europe” for the period 2013-2017. More specifically, the findings for Cyprus were discussed, where it is noted that discriminations in workplaces have been increased for the last years. This is a fact also verified by PEO through daily visits of syndicalists at the workplaces.

The concerns for the increase of the phenomenon of xenophobia, racism and unequal treatment at workplaces are mutual. Both organizations agreed to con-

Concerns for increase of the phenomenon of xenophobia, racism and unequal treatment at the workplaces

tinue cooperating and to promote those issues regarding the fight against discriminations.

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Payment of salaries to employees from the Insolvency Fund

The need to amend the Legislation for protection of rights of employees in case of insolvency of the employer aiming to cover their salaries and benefits by the Insolvency Fund, was stressed at the meeting of the Labour Committee that examined the problems created for the employees of the Pancyprian Bakers Association after the decision of the government to close it.

In his statements after the end of the meeting, the President of the Committee and AKEL MP, Andreas Fakontis, stated among others, that “one of the most serious issues occupying a part of employees that have been dismissed due to the fact that their companies have closed or their under liquidation and their salaries and other benefits have not been paid yet”.

The aim of the discussion, he added, “is to exercise pressure towards the executive power and especially on the Ministry of Labour in order to proceed with the amendment of the current legislation for change of the definition of the insolvent business” and for the employees’ salaries to be paid by the Insolvency fund, in which more than €200 million have accumulated.

“In other words, there is money but there is inability to cover cases of dismissals due to the definition of insolvency”, as he said noting that the amendment of the legislation must have retrospective effect to cover the employees of Pancyprian Bakers’ Company and of Pittas company and other companies that are under liquidation.

PEO Deputy S.G., Sotiroula Charalambous stated that the Fund for

Insolvency, which at the moment has accumulated more than €200 million, was created with the aim to also cover the employees whose businesses have closed with the result “to be unpaid in the streets”.

She said that the cases of these businesses have been multiplied recently due to the economic crisis.

As she stated, PEO has submitted a series of suggestions to face this urgent issue.

PEO: No attempt made by the government for humane working hours at shops

“Anastasiades-DISY government has chosen the full liberalization of working hours at shops and all this time, there is no attempt made for regulating these and creating more humane working hours of employees”, as denounced by the Dep. S.G. of PEO, Sotiroula Charalambous.

As S.Charalambous stated, the employees at shops are obliged to work every Sunday as well as at bank holidays and as a consequence they do not have any time to rest or to spend some quality time with their families. This statement was made by the chance of the statement of the President of the Economics Committee of the Parliament, Angelos Votsis, who mentioned that there is no political will in the Ministerial Council to regulate the working hours of shops. On his behalf, AKEL MP, Costas Costa, denounced that the government is provocatively indifferent and it does not attempt to solve the really serious issues faced by the

small-medium businesses, but through some of its decisions, such as its obsession for the shops’ working hours, offers them the parting shot.

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Trade Union Movement counterattacks Fight against the social and gender inequalities

The protesting event held on 6 March in Nicosia by the Central Working Women Office of PEO and the Women’s Movement of PEO sent a message to the government to practically protect the working women.

At the climax of the actions by the chance of the Inter-

2019 is the year when the Trade Union Movement has to react and stop the deregulation. It must counterattack and claim the narrowing of the social inequality and better living and working conditions”, as PEO S.G. said in his speech during the Pancyprian Organizational Con-

Fighting message by the Pancyprian Organizational Conference of PEO

ference of PEO that was held on 1st March 2019, at PEO Amphitheatre in Nicosia.

As he stressed, the fight will not be won by crying but by rebellious declarations and announcements. This will be won mainly if we manage to creatively exploit the anger and the dislike of the employees in order to organize them and thus widen the possibilities and the negotiating force of the Trade Union Movement.

On his behalf, PEO Central Organizing Secretary, Christos Tombazos, stressed that “we endured the pressures, we limited the losses, our force was stabi-

Claiming protection of working women, equality and social justice

national Women’s Day, the protesters, gathered at Eleftheria Square in Nicosia where there were short speeches by PEO S.G., Pambis Kyritsis and POGO S.G., Skevi Koukouma.

They then walked towards the Ministry of Labor where representatives from both Organizations submitted a memo to the Minister of Labour. AKEL S.G., Andros Kyprianou, was also at the protest. lized and we are in a route to regain our forces”.

As he stated, the employees, naturally, expect more from PEO exactly because they recognized that this is the genuine expressor of their interests. They know that PEO is not an organization for employees, but an organization of employees”.

More than 500 representatives attended the Conference. They represented all the Unions of PEO from all the districts and they reviewed the social and labour conditions of the last years and the action of PEO and they set new organizational aims for massification and strengthening of the Trade Union Movement.

Reviewing the action of PEO in this period, the Pancyprian Organizational Conference considered the organization work done in the last years as a positive one, despite the hard conditions that have been created since 2013 and the continuous attacks on the syndicalism. PEO has managed to go through the pressures and despite the significant loss of members during the period of the climax of crisis-mainly because of the massive dismissals and the great wave of unemployment-it was then stabilized and it is today under a recovery phase.

PEO as a pioneer in the fight for equality

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Meanwhile, the big Pancyprian campaign of PEO for International Women’s Day was completed. The message for continuing the fight against the social and gender discriminations reached more than 25.000 working women and during the campaign there were hundreds of contacts at workplaces and many Meetings all over Cyprus. Simultaneously, within the frameworks of the joint action of the Women’s Offices of PEO and DEVIS there were common visits of representatives.

“We are also claiming measures creating new dignified work positions and employment and training schemes taking into account the special characteristics of unemployed for their integration and re-integration in work to be feasible. We are also asking for measures taking that will protect every working woman from being dismissed when she decided to exercise her right to maternity. We are asking for measures by which the working parents will be able to respond to their parental role, such as to cover the parental leave with a benefit.

Simultaneously, the mechanisms for control, implementation of legislations and equality policies under a Single Equality Principle must become more effective”, as stated by the Secretary of the Central Women’s Office of PEO, Marina Koukou.