Government policies promoting part-time jobs, reduced salaries and extended working hours
Statement of Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL, on shop opening hour issue
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 23rd April 2015, Nicosia
While the profits of big businesses in Cyprus have exceeded all previous historical levels, both in percentage and in absolute terms, the government is attempting to strangle Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s) with the Minister of Labor’s obsession to impose the view of a handful of large chain owners concerning expanded shop opening hours.
We recall that this very difficult issue was resolved during the previous government in a way that was acceptable to the vast majority of those involved on the issue. Today, the Minister of Labour, again without any consultation with those directly involved, is trying to shirk her responsibilities for finding a solution.
The myth the Anastasiades government attempted through communication games to convey that supposedly through the decrees it issued 7,000 new job recruitments had been created, has collapsed after yesterday’s figures submitted to the Commission on Labour Issues of the House by the Ministry of Labour herself.
More specifically, from the sum total of new recruits 50% are being paid a salary of less than €800, while the number of employees with a salary below €350 has increased by 100% compared to 2011. Furthermore, the number of employees with earnings of €350 – €500 has increased by 50%, while the number of working people on a salary in excess of €800 has been reduced by 5,000 people compared with 2011. At the same time, employment in the retail trade since 2013 when the decrees were implemented remained the same.
What the government has achieved is to convert each job to two part-time jobs. This is precisely also what the large chain owners want to safeguard and they are now spending thousands of Euros on advertisements in newspapers and streets in favor of continuous working hours.
AKEL reiterates our position that the proposed regulations submitted by the government clash with basic legislation, which includes a clear definition of “tourist area/zone.”
As AKEL, we reiterate our position:
- Safeguarding of labour rights and working people’s jobs.
- Specify the winter season period, from November until the end of March, where all the shops should remain closed on Sundays.
- Determination of the summer season period, from April until the end of October and defining tourist areas/zones that will operate with extended hours, including Sunday. The tourist areas must be established after consultation between the Minister and the Provincial Advisory Committees.
We clarify that AKEL will remain steadfast on the position of principle without any bargaining with anyone. AKEL will not act as a Trojan horse to promote interests opposed to the interests of working people and SME’s.
