Adamos Adamou
About 60 Turkish Cypriots are recruited by a group active in the field of tourism industry in the free zones, on the basis of the cooperation developed by the SEC with the Turkish guild Turk-Sen. Speaking to “F”, the secretary general of the SEC, Andreas Matsas, stated that the specific group has already informed the SEC that it will proceed with the employment of about 45% of the Turkish Cypriots whose relevant applications it has examined and has already interviewed with them, with the number of recruitments amounting to around 60 .
As it is known, on the basis of the agreement, of which the Ministry of Labor is also aware, several Turkish Cypriots, a few hundred in particular, expressed interest through Turk-Sen for employment in the free zones, with the relevant applications being forwarded to the SEC, which undertook notify them to companies looking for staff in the free areas.
According to Mr. Matsas, in the context of this consultation, which is still ongoing, a specific employer conducted interviews with interested parties and has already announced his intention to employ 60 Turkish Cypriots. Asked about it, the secretary general of SEC did not want to mention the name of the specific group, noting that it is active in the tourism sector, a development that thus confirms the increased needs that exist in hotels and the hospitality industry in general.
According to Mr. Matsas, through the cooperation of SEK with Turk-Sen, it is ensured that the T / Cs that hold the identity of KD will not be exploited, nor will they operate competitively to the detriment of the existing staff, but also of new staff, since the involvement of the guild ensures the implementation of all that is provided by the legislation, as well as the implementation of the collective agreements. Mr. Matsas included the SEC initiative in all the efforts made to meet the needs of the labor market from the internal market, in order to avoid, as he said, the uncontrolled import of workers from third countries. Within this framework, the effort developed by the Department of Labor is included, following relevant instructions by the Minister of Labor Zeta Aimilianidou, for group interviews of unemployed people to fill vacancies observed in sectors of the economy. The organization of group interviews was confirmed yesterday by the director of the Labor Department of the Ministry of Labor, Alexandros Alexandrou. Speaking on state radio, Mr. Alexandrou said that the first group interview will be about meeting the needs of the construction industry and that the whole process will be attended by unemployed people who will be notified and employers who have filled vacancies in the industry. The goal, he said, is to meet the observed needs of Cypriots and community members on the island, stating that group interviews will be conducted in the presence of representatives of the social partners.
He confirmed that the group interviews will take place after the completion of the first, for the construction industry, for hotels, restaurants and for trade. Asked what will happen if the needs of the existing unemployed are not met, Mr. Alexandrou referred to decisions of the Minister of Labor for the next steps. As is well known, the position of employers is, if it is found that the needs and shortcomings can not be covered by the domestic market, to grant employment to workers from third countries. However, the ongoing efforts that the Ministry of Labor seems to be making, as well as its contact with the Greek Ministry of Labor to meet the needs of the country, confirm the estimates that the licensing of new staff from third countries will be the last choice of the government for covering the human resources shortages, mainly due to the uncertainty that continues to prevail due to the pandemic and its possible negative effects on employment.
