Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou during his tour in the district of Paphos
11th May 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
“Our visit here to this remote district aims to express our support to the medical, nursing and paramedical staff of the hospital and to thank them for their tremendous work and the role they have played in combating the pandemic in very difficult times and adverse conditions.
In many cases they have given more than they could and we express our sincere gratitude to them. We have symbolically brought some masks and we shall also hand over some uniforms for the staff soon.
Nonetheless, I would like to express my regret that the hospital here has been converted into a hospital exclusively for Covid-19 patients. This is a great inconvenience for the people of the wider region since they are forced to move to other areas as they face medical problems. I consider that the Ministry of Health must reconsider its decision and see how it solves the wider region’s problems.
Let me just say that Cyprus has entered a new phase since yesterday. We want to believe that there is no turning back in this phase because both the mental health of the people and the local economy have suffered greatly. Of course we agree that public health is paramount.
At the same time, however, we must see how we are preparing to deal with the problems that will arise for small and medium-size businesses and workers with the end of the pandemic.
As far as SME’s are concerned, which represent the backbone of the Cyprus economy, we believe that the government must take concrete measures to support them so they can resume their work again.
First and foremost the government must study what measures it is taking to deal with the debts that have mounted during the pandemic and which are quite big. A fund must be set up where money from tax evasion and other sources of revenue can be deposited to support the reactivation of SME’s.
We also believe that it would be very useful to create a single body to advise and assist SME’s to absorb money from EU funds, while at the same time the evictions and foreclosure procedures of SME’s must be terminated.
Of course another problem which since the beginning of the pandemic has unfortunately not been resolved by the government is the issue of rents. Our view is that there should be a subsidy granted that will be shared among the three, namely the state, tenants and landlords.
Working people will also face huge problems with the end of the pandemic and the termination of state support for businesses. There is a risk of mass layoffs and of drastic reductions in wages, so the government needs to help towards addressing these huge issues.
Of course, I have to declare that we have many reservations about what role the state will play, given that the state itself is a very bad employer. I mean the government is a very bad employer and I am referring to the strike taking place today by teachers in state training institutes, post-secondary institutes, sports and music schools, people who while working regularly on very low government salaries, the government suddenly decided to turn them into self-employed resulting in these people barely making ends meet today.
Many of them, the vast majority, are forced to live on 500 euros a month. Taking this into account, we are concerned and believe that the government, on the one hand, must set a minimum wage in various professions. On the other hand, it must also support the implementation of collective agreements and must make it clear through legislation that collective agreements take precedence over personal contracts. Where there are no collective agreements, elementary basic rights of workers must be defined by law.”
Q: Concerning football fan’s celebrations yesterday, as far as the issue with the measures is concerned, there was a lot of people, packed crowds…
“First of all, congratulations to Omonia for winning the championship, as well as the clubs Apollonas and AEL, which until the last moment were fighting for the championship.
Let me just say that you’re absolutely right, that yes, such events must be held in compliance with the relevant protocols.”
