AKEL meeting with the Pancyprian Association of School Attendants/Assistants

 

8 June 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, had a meeting today with a delegation from the Pancyprian Association of School Attendants/Assistants.

During the discussion, the long-standing problems school attendants/assistants face, who are called upon to carry out a very important role, confronting many difficulties and in adverse working conditions with earnings below the minimum wage, were raised.

The main problem remains the government’s failure to safeguard the profession through legislation, a fact which works to the detriment of children with disabilities and creates obstacles to their smooth integration into the school unit. There are gaps in the procedures related to the hiring of staff and their mandate, as well as concerning training issues.

As AKEL we support the just demands of school attendants/assistants and call on the government to take substantive initiatives to put an end to the unacceptable delay that is being observed in the promotion of solutions. Towards this end, the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL will send a relevant letter to the Minister of Education.

The AKEL delegation included AKEL MP and member of the Parliamentary Education Affairs Committee Christos Christofides and member of the Central Committee of AKEL Vakis Charalambous.