The issue of unemployment benefits for permanent employees in the Ministry of Education’s support programs—who receive no income during the summer months—remains unresolved, with Members of Parliament calling for a solution on Wednesday following the session of the Parliamentary Committee on Education. According to reports, approximately 300 people are affected.
In his remarks, the Committee Chair, DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides, stated that support programs play a crucial role in the education system and that employment conditions must provide security for educators.
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“Unfortunately, the prevailing conditions regarding their employment are not such that all these teachers feel secure,” he said, adding that workers have been without income for four months now, making it difficult for them to support their families.
Mr. Savvidis expressed his confidence that the government and the relevant ministries of Education, Labor, and Finance will find “the right balance,” so that teachers can receive the salaries they are entitled to, live with dignity, and continue to provide their services in the support programs.
For his part, DISY MP Prodromos Alambritis noted that the problem with unemployment benefits is causing hardship for hundreds of teachers who have served for years in support programs and contribute to the Ministry ofEducation.
As he said, the Committee called on the Ministry of Education to resolve the issue and set a three-week deadline for finding a solution that would satisfy the employees.
AKEL MP Christos Christofides noted that, despite the measures taken before the summer to grant permanent status to a significant portion of the employees, the Ministries of Labor and Education decided, without consulting the unions, that these employees are not entitled to unemployment benefits during the months they are not working.
He argued that hundreds of workers and their families remain without income for four to five months, with all that this entails. As he noted, the discussion revealed “neither a plan nor a clear political will” to resolve the issue.
Mr. Christofides also raised the issue of the failure to recognize the service of employees who move from one support program to another, even though, as he said, the Ministry of Education remains their employer. He noted that employees may have completed four years of service but are not recognized as permanent employees because they have not completed 30 months in the same program.
He added that these issues were raised during the meeting and a resolution was requested, while the Committee will reconvene in a few weeks to review the progress of the matter.
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou stated that, under the law, Social Security cannot grant unemployment benefits to these workers, as their employment remains active and continuous and does not end with the conclusion of the school year.
He also referred to the failure to count service time when employees change programs, describing the practice as “completely unacceptable and legally untenable,” since, as he said, the Ministry of Education itself defines their duties.
Mr. Ioannou requested that a meeting be convened between the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and those directly involved, so that the problem can be resolved based on the model applied to other state employment schemes. “We cannot leave these people in limbo and without any income during these months,” he said.
During the session, a representative from the Ministry of Education noted that there are 13 support programs and described the issue as complex, as it concerns a unique group of workers. He explained that, prior to the legislative change, workers received unemployment benefits during the summer months because their contracts were terminated. With the conversion of their contracts to permanent status, their employment no longer ends in the summer, resulting in the issue currently under consideration.
For its part, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor stated that, according to the law, employment must have been terminated in order for unemployment benefits to be granted. She explained that these specific employees are still employed by the Ministry of Education and, therefore, they are not considered unemployed, noting that no exception can be made to the provisions of the law.
Source: CNA
