PEO’s demand that the voices of workers calling for “no more bloodshed for a day’s wage” be heard was expressed in a speech by PEO Secretary General Sotiroula Charalambous at an event organized by the Federation for Occupational Safety and Health Week, which included a march to the Ministry of Labor on Thursday afternoon.
In a memorandum from PEO to the Minister of Labor, Marinos Mousiouttas, concern is expressed regarding workplace accidents—particularly fatal ones—and the need is emphasized to intensify efforts that will substantially improve theand lead to the practical implementation of the legislative framework for Occupational Safety and Health, while recommendations are also submitted.
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In her speech, Ms. Charalambous noted that in the first six months of 2026, there were 5 fatal workplace accidents, compared to 7 in all of 2025 and 1,276 workplace accidents, adding that the construction sector continues to lead the list, with manufacturing and the hospitality sector following.
With this event, PEO aims to highlight the need for actions and projects that will make the goal of zero accidents a reality, for a healthy, safe work environment, she said, adding that to this end, “actions and initiatives are required for which each employer bears primary and fundamental responsibility.”
It is obvious, Ms. Charalambous said, that the goal of economic growth leads to intensified labor, increased pressure on workers, and, consequently, a deterioration in health and safety measures. Is it any coincidence, she asked, that a large percentage of workplace accidents involve migrant workers?
According to the PEO General Secretary, the provision in the law requiring employers to ensure that a new employee’s first day of work is a paid training day conducted in a language understandable to the workers, which was passed in 2026 following a bill proposed by AKEL, is in danger of remaining a dead letter, since to date—and despite complaints to the Labor Inspection Department—no monitoring mechanism has been established to ensure its implementation.
Two years ago, amid events and announcements, a program was launched for mandatory training of all workers in the construction industry, with the goal of ensuring that every worker employed in the construction industry has a Safe-Pass, she recalled, noting that it has become apparent that employers in the sector are unwilling to send their workers to training.
Ms. Charalambous said that the very low number of Health and Safety committees in the workplace is indicative of the underestimation and neglect of Health and Safety issues, and that according to the data, in only one-quarter of workplaces that have health and safety committees, the representatives have been elected by the workers themselves.
He cited a study by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, according to which 41% of workers in Cyprus report experiencing stress, depression, anxiety caused or exacerbated by work. “This percentage is significantly higher than the EU average of 29%,” she emphasized.
According to the PEO Secretary-General, new challenges and risks are emerging in the field of Occupational Safety and Health due to the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and digitalization, addressing which, as she said, “requires timely research and comprehensive plans with measures to mitigate risk sources for workers.”
Ms. Charalambous noted that the criminal negligence and gaps identified in the field of occupational safety and health, and the inaction displayed by a large portion of employers regarding investments in this area are not unrelated to the fact that in recent years, as a result of labor deregulation policies and the refusal by a large portionof employers to implement sectoral collective bargaining agreements, there has been a decline in coverage under collective bargaining agreements.
In the recommendations included in the memorandum to the Minister of Labor, the Labor Inspection Department (TEE) to proceed with legislative measures for the issuance of Safe-passes in the construction industry, and it is requested that the TEE’s staffing be reinforced with a sufficient number of inspectors, as well as that procedures which take time away from the actual inspection be modernized and simplified, with the aim of increasing the number of workplace inspections.
It is also recommended that the process of issuing regulations for the monitoring of workers’ health be expedited, with the goal of covering all workers, so that a system for health surveillance and the prevention of occupational diseases can finally be established, based on the practices of other European countries with greater experience.
It is also noted that it is imperative to establish the necessary mechanism to monitor the implementation of the law on mandatory Employer Liability Insurance, to align it with the list of occupational diseases maintained by the Labor Inspection Department. the list of occupational diseases maintained by the Social Insurance Department, and the adoption of additional immediate measures for the election of committees in all workplaces.
It further recommends that the out-of-court fines imposed by the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) be drastically increased, and that an Action Plan be developed to protect workers in the new conditions arising from the introduction of Artificial Intelligence into the workplace, following dialogue with labor unions and employer organizations.
The PEO also calls on employers not to withhold their employees’ wages during the suspension of outdoor work, which is mandated by a ministerial decree to protect workers from heat stress.
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Source: KYPE
