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The woman of Cyprus works but works in inferior terms, with unregulated forms of work, part-time, with fixed-term contracts, works en masse with cheap work, said PEO Secretary General Sotiroula Charalambous, adding that Cyprus has one of the highest pension gaps between men and women, based on statistics. & nbsp;
According to an announcement by PEO, in her speech at the event of the organization for Women's Day on: “The market for services as a means of degrading the role of women in modern Cypriot society” at the entrance of Ledra Street, Nicosia, Mrs. Charalambous said that for 165 years now, from March 8, 1857 to the present day, for those whose equality is not limited to declarations and wishes but is part of the need to get rid of all forms of discrimination and exploitation, part of the struggle for a A fairer, more humane world, March 8 turns into a huge global demonstration that brings together working men and women from all over the world.
Undoubtedly, he noted, on March 8 this year, the shadow of the war in Ukraine and the loss of human lives weigh on. “The PEO unites its voice with the voices of the millions of peace activists who demand an immediate end to the war and the finding of a peaceful solution within the framework of the principles of international law and with respect for the pre-existing Minsk agreements. “Militarization and escalation of armaments cannot be the solution, on the contrary, it aggravates the situation,” he added.
We decided this year, on the occasion of International Women's Day, the leading day of struggle against discrimination, for equality in life and work, she said, to focus once again on a group of workers, the majority of whom are women, working in programs of the Ministry of Education.
“We have an obligation to keep this issue alive, first to those workers who for 9 years now with stubbornness, unity and militancy are fighting for their right to be recognized as workers and why this group of workers is a group on which it is expressed “Deregulation and cheap work without rights in all its glory”, noted the Secretary General of PEO.
He said that according to the data of the European Institute for Gender Equality published on February 11, while Cyprus ranks 8th out of 27 in the index for participation in work, in the index for segregation and quality of work is in 21st place. This means, he pointed out, that the woman of Cyprus works but works on inferior terms, with unregulated forms of work, with part-time work, with fixed-term contracts, she works en masse with cheap work.
Ms. Charalambous said that for the thousands of employees in the afternoon and all-day schools, in the State Training Institutes, in the Training Centers and in the Music Schools, of which about 90% are women, what the statistics record is the way of life and work. for 9 years now. “The government, fully implementing the neoliberal anti-labor prescriptions that require the cost of the crisis to be paid by the workers, with a political decision, baptized these workers as self-employed. “Literally, these colleagues slept employed and woke up self-employed,” he added.
Revenues, he said, “which, as the Minister of Education himself said in his response to the Parliamentary Committee on Education in July 2021, range at € 200 per month on average. Incomplete coverage by the T.K.A, since as independently insured they do not have the right to unemployment during the period when the programs are closed, nor to leave allowance and let it not be their choice to stay without a job, but a decision imposed by the Ministry Education ».
Even now in the midst of the pandemic, if they fell ill due to coronavirus, due to the employment regime imposed on them, he continued, from the ten days of forced abstinence from work they would be paid only one and with the reduction of quarantine they are not entitled to any. “And this whole working framework of the lack & nbsp; “Rights in the end will lead to low contributions and low pensions for women, which is confirmed by statistics again as Cyprus has one of the highest pension gaps between men and women,” she added. & nbsp;
Missing rights, missing pensions, lack of life, said Ms. Charalambous, as job insecurity and insecurity and the feeling of professional disrepute created in these employees deepen gender inequalities.
“Otherwise, today the government will hear solemn and resounding words about the importance of women's employment in promoting equality. At the same time, they deny thousands of women workers who are called employees, ignorantly provocatively ignoring the decision of the Administrative Court, which ruled that the decision of the T.K.A regarding the insurance status of these people is wrong and erroneous. ” , noted.
Ms. Charalambous stated that “the stubborn refusal of the Ministry of Education to return these employees to the status of employees, confirms that the Government is also part of the philosophy for cheap and unpaid work. It is estimated that one in three employees in the public, semi-public sector and local government works either by purchasing services or by regular contracts. And when the government, the public sector behaves in this way, why not the private sector in the same way? “, He asked.
” PEO and our union PASEV-PEO stood and will continue to stand by employees working in the service market. We will continue to fight for the fundamental and self-evident right of every person whose job is dependent to be called an employee and to have all the rights that this title includes “, he added.
Today on this important day for the workers, the day we honor the struggles of generations of women and men against discrimination, for equality, said Ms. Charalambous, we want to present the appreciation of PEO in the struggle that you give with unprecedented stubbornness all these years – this is our struggle it concerns everyone, it is a struggle for work with dignity and rights, it is a struggle for bread and roses.
