Solutions are needed to confront the difficulties faced by the majority of society on a daily basis

Statements by Andros Kafkalias, AKEL MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance Committee, following the debate on the 2024 Budgets of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, in the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee

 

20 November 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The examination of the budget of the Ministry of Labour and Social insurance is not done in a vacuum. It is taking place within the context of specific economic and social realities:

• The purchasing power of the average salary-pension in Cyprus is suffering great losses,
• A redistribution of working people’s income in favor of capital is noted.
• The deregulation of labour relations continues with informal forms of employment, the purchase of services system and shop opening hours on Sundays, causing further pressure to be exerted on collective labour agreements.
• While employment is increasing, working people’s position is deteriorating.
• Underemployment/precarious-employment continues to increase, with young people leaving and moving abroad.
• Around 15% of young people are out of employment, education and training.
• Reduction of labour costs has increased profit margins and did not improve competitiveness.

It is imperative to address these challenges and difficulties faced by the vast majority of society.

More specifically, among other things, it is necessary to:

 

 

 

• Plan to ensure, strengthen and extend the application of collective agreements, as well as the European Directive.
• Re-regulate labour law and define the employer-employee relationship. End the phenomenon of replacing permanent and stable employment with the purchase of services and part-time work.
• Revise the minimum wage decree with a correction to the wage rate, hourly rate, maximum 38-hour working week and automatic adjustment based on the consumer price index.
• Revision of the Decree on the Employment Strategy for third-country workers.
• Restoration of the 12% penalty on pensions. The government’s proposal falls short of society’s expectations.
• Provision of widow’s pension to all men.
• Ensure the right to unemployment benefit for all workers after the age of 63.
• Extend maternity leave to 26 weeks from the first child.
• Revise parental leave so that it can be taken up to the child’s 15th birthday.
• Grant paid parental leave to self-employed workers.

The need for a change in philosophy, policies and priorities is what is needed. However, this is a pressing need that is not answered in the budget.

The urgent need to redesign social policy

The official statistics, even more so the current realities, reflect the serious difficulties faced by a large section of Cypriot society to meet basic needs and for people to survive with dignity.

24,000 of our fellow citizens live in conditions of severe material and social deprivation, 4 out of 10 of our fellow citizens face serious financial difficulties to cover urgent, but necessary expenses, 1 out of 5 of our fellow citizens are unable to cover the cost of heating, while almost a similar percentage finds it difficult to promptly cover obligations related to rent, instalments and fixed bills, 31,000 children in Cyprus are facing poverty and social exclusion.

And all this while price increases are crushing family incomes, Cyprus is lagging far behind in terms of policies and spending to support vulnerable groups of the population. This is unfortunately confirmed through the budget of the Ministry of Social Welfare, which does not include the necessary provisions and measures to address the critical challenges of supporting society.

Indicatively we note the following:

• The absence of a modern and progressive social policy for children and families, with public structures, infrastructures, benefits and programmes that respond to the needs and responsibilities of working parents.
• The inadequacy of child protection structures.
• The reduction in the budget for the Minimum Guaranteed Income, instead of promoting the modernisation of social policy, accompanied by a targeted review of the amount of basic needs, rent and institutional care allowances, taking into account real needs.
• The inability to effectively restructure the Social Welfare Services so that public social services can play their role as agencies to elaborate and implement social policies.
• The absence of a comprehensive policy to provide support for people with disabilities and the delay in promoting specific legislation in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

As AKEL, we will not tire of repeating that social policy needs to be redesigned so that it is not limited itself to simply providing a benefit, but that instead it implements policies that effectively protect society.  A new social policy, which will include policies and interventions that will reduce social inequalities and achieve a fairer redistribution of the wealth produced are imperative.