“Cyprus is not a slave market,” Labor Minister Marinos Mousiouttas said on Wednesday in response to allegations by the SEK and PEO unions, regarding the practice of hiring workers on a temporary basis in the hotel industry, adding that “such actions are reprehensible.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the Labor Advisory Council meeting in Nicosia, Mr. Mousiouttas also said that the Ministry of Labor and the Department of Labor will, as a matter of course, address the issue, adding that “the Ministry and the relevant officials of the responsible department are working to conduct inspections to determine whether such practices exist, and where they do, to pursue legal action.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Minister said that “Cyprus is a place where everyone’s rights are recognized, and everyone—both employees and employers—must respect them, regardless of race, religion, color, or gender,” adding that the Ministry will work to ensure that these phenomena are “if not eliminated, at least reduced.”
He noted that, due to the holidays, the unions’ letter had reached him a few days ago, and he is now awaiting a report from the relevant department “so we can see how to proceed.”
He also called for such incidents to be reported “to help us as well, since we share a common goal—names and addresses, as we say—so that we can move forward more easily”, clarifying that this does not mean that “we won’t move forward without this.” He assured that they would address the issue, adding that “we don’t want it to grow and become like the Lernaean Hydra, where you cut off one head and ten more spring up.”
What SEK and PEO Are Denouncing
From cleaners and housekeepers to waitstaff and even cooks, the practice of hiring temporary workers in the hotel industry and recreational centers may affect a wide range of employees, as reported by the SEK and PEO unions, which are awaiting a resolution of the issue from the Ministry of Labor, having already met with the Department of Labor and sent a letter to the Department of Labor Relations. Speaking to KYPE, the General Secretary of SYXKA PEO, Neophytos Timinis, stated that the issue should now be examined by the relevant Minister, expressing the unions’ intention to take action.
As Michalis Fragou, General Secretary of OUXEKA-SEK, explained “some hoteliers hire workers through agencies that bring in workers from third countries, not to work in hotels, but to provide services in other sectors, such as office and building cleaning,” explaining that this creates serious distortions in the hotel industry, in violation of collective bargaining agreements and labor laws. According to Mr. Fragou, this phenomenon is not limited to a specific category of staff but affects a wide range of job roles within hotels.
As they explained, the hiring of temporary workers in hotels creates clear distortions in the hotel industry, constitutes a violation of collective bargaining agreements and labor laws, and creates a two-tier workforce.
When asked whether this primarily concerns housekeepers, he replied characteristically that “it’s everything,” clarifying that “it includes housekeepers, cleaners, and kitchen staff.” He then added that the practice involves staff in “bars, restaurants, kitchens, housekeeping, maids, cleaners—everything.” As he noted, even specialized roles such as cooks are not excluded; “This happens too, unfortunately,” he said.
Describing how the system works in practice, Mr. Fragou cited the example of a hotel in urgent need of staff—for instance, ten housekeepers, which can turn to an agency that supplies workers from abroad to meet its needs. As he noted, the hotelier pays money to the contractor or agency that provides the staff, without it being clear how much of that amount ultimately goes to the employee. “No one knows what’s going on,” he said.
Mr. Fragou argued that this practice “creates a two-tiered workforce,” resulting, as he put it, “in the circumvention of collective bargaining agreements and the violation of laws”. He added that this concerns both the terms of employment governed by law and the collective bargaining agreement and regulations in force in the hotel industry. He even described the situation that is unfolding as a “slave market.”
These are not isolated incidents
As Neophytos Timinis noted, the problem cannot be quantified, as this falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor and the Department of Labor Inspection. He also noted that the Department of Labor has publicly acknowledged that there are no mechanisms in place to directly address the problem and sounded the alarm about where this situation couldif satisfactory inspections are not carried out. Responding to a question, he said that these are not isolated incidents but rather a widespread practice affecting most hotels in coastal areas, “mainly in Ayia Napa and Paphos, but also in Limassol.”
He stressed that the Ministry must take a stand on the issue and make it clear that such forms of employment are prohibited.
He highlighted the need for the Department of Labor to conduct intensive inspections, noting that it is obvious that illegal practices exist since subcontracting cannot be permitted within hotels. This applies to kitchen staff, maids, and cleaners, as he noted.
As he explained, these are third-country nationals who are typically placed in hotels through temporary employment agencies or job placement offices. He emphasized that these employees work according to the facility’s needs, without a permanent position, while the situation is unclear regarding whether they receive benefits and social security coverage, since payment is made to the intermediary agency, which in turn pays the employee.
“These employees are paid by the hour, without any application of the collective bargaining agreement and without benefits,” he said. He also expressed the view that the current situation stems from weaknesses in the strategy for employing foreign workers, existing loopholes, and a lack of adequate oversight.
According to assurances received from the Director of Labor Relations, the issue will be brought before the Minister in the coming days. “That is the assurance we were given,” he noted. He stressed that serious measures must be taken, adding that otherwise the unions are jointly considering further steps in September.
“If we see that no steps are taken in September to provide solutions—or at least to minimize this problem—then we have no choice but to discuss further measures,” he said.
Staff Shortages
For his part, Mr. Fragou, when asked to comment on whether this was an effort to meet the needs of hotels due to a labor shortage, said that “no one disputes that there is a staff shortage,” while clarifying that SEK is not opposed to hiring workers from third countries, provided that this is done through the prescribed procedures.
He also reiterated SEK’s position on revising the strategy for employing workers from third countries, “so that we can revisit these issues, put them into a proper process, to ensure that there are no irregularities, that it does not turn into a slave market, or anything else that goes against the workers, whether current or future ones.”
He also emphasized that the reasons for the staff shortages in hotels should be examined.
It should be noted that SEK and PEO have repeatedly raised this issue with the relevant authorities; a meeting was held with the Department of Labor in early August, and a new letter was sent to the Department of Labor Relations, from which a response is expected.
Ready to Take Action
It should be noted that in a letter sent to the Department of Labor Relations last week, SEK and PEO referred to a phenomenon that is taking on uncontrollable proportions, as they state it is not limited solely to thethe use of temporary employment agencies but also extends to companies that operate as labor providers or suppliers, assigning staff to hotels and recreational centers. These businesses are demanding that “the relevant departments of the Ministry immediately proceed with extensive, targeted, and substantive inspections of both the companies that provide or supply labor and the hotels that utilize their services.”
At the same time, they are calling for the full and strict enforcement of the law, as well as the imposition of all applicable administrative and criminal penalties in every case where violations are found.
As they note, “Our unions will not stand idly by and watch the ongoing deregulation of the sector and the circumvention of labor laws. Unless there is immediate, substantive, and effective intervention by the competent authorities, we will consider that the State is unable or unwilling to ensure compliance with the law, and we will proceed to take all lawful union and other measures at our disposal tothe rights of workers and the protection of legality in the sector.”
And in the restaurant industry
When asked at the same time whether such phenomena are limited to the hotel industry, Mr. Timinis noted that similar phenomena are observed in the construction industry as well as in the restaurant sector. When asked whether there are food delivery drivers who also work as waitstaff at the restaurants from which they deliver food, the PEO representative noted that requests have been submitted to renew the sector’s collective bargaining agreement. Through this agreement, efforts will also be made to address demands such as greater transparency in the delivery algorithm, so that instances of illegal hiring and exploitation by restaurant owners can be identified.
For his part, Charalambos Avgoustis, General Secretary of OMEPEGE-SEK, stated that the union is constantly asking the Ministry of Labor to conduct inspections of delivery drivers at the locations where they park and wait to pick up orders.
As she explained, the Ministry occasionally informs the union of the findings from these inspections, which have revealed individuals working completely illegally, without the necessary documentation.
With regard specifically to cases of delivery drivers who may also be working as waiters, Mr. Avgoustis noted that SEK has not been informed of how many such cases have been identified.
He noted, however, that the issue will be brought before the Ministry, particularly in light of the upcoming negotiations to renew the collective bargaining agreement for delivery workers.
“We will raise this issue and emphasize that they must be careful about this as well,” he said, noting that the collective bargaining agreement and working conditions for waitstaff differ from those applicable to delivery workers.
