The government suffers from a lack of a social vision

Statement by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL on the 2019 Budget of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 9 November 2018, Nicosia

Yesterday, the Budget for 2019 was submitted by the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance. The Minister said a lot, but in our view, what he didn’t say was very important:

• He said nothing about the dramatic rise of social inequality in Cyprus, which is highlighted even by the European Commission’s reports on the European Semester, as well as the figures released by the European Statistical Office.
• He didn’t even mention anything about the huge issue of the deregulation of labour relations, which has now assumed terrifying dimensions. The government does not understand that most of society experience increased insecurity on labour issues.

AKEL has tabled a proposal for a legislative regulation to oblige employers to implement collective agreements, as well as the need to agree terms and conditions of employment for those working people who aren’t covered by collective agreements.

The national minimum wage proposed by the government, “if and provided that” as it states, is not enough because it doesn’t address the essence of the problem.

• The Minister didn’t say anything whatsoever about the purchase of services, namely the misleading conversion of working people into self-employed. The government pretends this phenomenon doesn’t exist, at the same time as even the Ministry of Labour itself, which supposedly must protect working people, is the first to implement it.
• The Minister did not mention the huge deficits in housing policy. The attempt to paint a rosy picture of the situation, does not deal with the substance and magnitude of the problem, but avoids addressing it. Nor does the attempt to downplay the fact that the phenomenon of homeless people is now appearing in Cyprus for the very first time honor anyone.
• From the Minister we expected to hear, but didn’t hear anything about policies to provide support for young people and couples on low incomes. No program or any plans were outlined. We didn’t hear anything about the problem of pensioners on low incomes, nor anything about any plan to create a reserve for the Social Insurance Fund.

In short, the government is concerned only with numbers and not at all with the quality and content of social policy. A lack of social vision is evident; a lack of effective political support for the vulnerable and low-income groups, and absolutely no concern for the continuing slump in wages and deterioration in working people’s employment conditions.