The government should cover all workers in purely tourist areas

 

3 February 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The measures announced by the Minister of Labour leave a large group of workers without support. The workers of purely tourist areas, such as Ayia Napa, Protaras and others, whose work is inextricably linked to the tourism industry, were left out of the Minister’s announcements, which were all of a sudden announced to serve the needs of DISY President Averof Neophytou’s campaign for the presidential elections.

After almost two years of the pandemic, the government should have acknowledged the fact that the areas of Cyprus that depend almost exclusively on tourism were closed or barely worked in 2020. In 2021 they were late to open and closed early, with the result that their employees have not completed six months of social security contributions and therefore risk being left without any unemployment benefits.

The government must take action for the tourism industry as a whole. Employees in shops, water sports, bars, restaurants, car rental agencies, and other related businesses in tourist areas are exposed just like hotel employees and must be covered immediately by offering them the possibility to claim unemployment benefits.