Employers' non-compliance with the law passed last December by the Plenary of the Parliament, regarding the standing of the workers, the authorities find, with the MPs calling before them all those involved, in order to give answers, regarding the course of the implementation of the legislation and whether effective controls are carried out.
In December 2023, the Plenary of Parliament passed the legislation governing the obligation of employers to provide workers with the opportunity to use sufficient and suitable seating during their work, in order to avoid continuous and prolonged standing, which can damage the their health. It is noted that, as the Ministry of Labor had mentioned, with the new provision of the legislation, the safety and health levels for workers, who perform tasks that require prolonged standing, are upgraded and is based on the best practices prepared and published by the European Organization for Safety and Health Occupational Health (EU OSHA) on the issues of standing in workplaces.
From then until today, six months have passed, with the Labor Committee, as the one responsible for the matter, calling before it all the bodies involved, so that an initial assessment can be made and the deputies informed about the progress of the implementation of the legislation and whether there are any problems.
“Six months have passed and we want to examine the course of implementation of the legislation, what and how many checks were carried out, what the results have shown so far, the compliance of employers, in terms of their obligations for the implementation of the legislation. It's a move to make sure that the legislation is implemented”, the chairman of the Labor Committee and AKEL MP, Andreas Kavkalias, explained to REPORTER.
READ HERE: Plenary approves bill to abolish standing in workplaces
No employers complied
Despite the fact that the legislation was clear and there were references to the provisions that each employer must take to help their workers, however reports that employers have not complied are varied. It is noted that both the trade unions that represent the workers and the employers have been called before the Labor Committee, in order to give the prevailing picture, as they themselves record.
“We have not received any complaints that the law is not being applied, we have no specific reports, but the general assessment that we get and as visitors and customers of some places, we have met workers who do not seem to benefit. We found that in some places there is no alignment with the legislation, but we want to see the actions of the authorities and what they record so that we can speak with more secure conclusions”.
However, in the previous period members of the PEO had gone out into the streets and visited various shops and workplaces and found some gaps and omissions in the implementation of the legislation and called on the Ministry of Labor to take the necessary actions to ensure the workers.
“The general feeling is that the general message of the legislation did not get through to employers, to adhere to everything that is included in their provisions. We want to check what has been done by the authorities. We had requested that information campaigns be carried out for employers”, Mr. Kavkalias concluded.
