ATA, foreign workers and pension in the foreground for the new Minister of Labor Yannis Panagiotou
Yannis Panagiotou is taking over the Ministry of Labor with many open hot issues. Speaking upon receiving the baton from the previous minister Kyriakos Kousios, the new minister Yiannis Panagiotou spoke about a ministry, which is connected to historical social conquests, as he said. Starting from the Social Insurance Fund with the late Tassos Papadopoulos, to the introduction of the minimum guaranteed income of the late Zeta Emilianidou and the national minimum wage with Kyriakos Kousios.
Referring to his priorities and the open issues that exist, the new Minister of Labor spoke about the issue of ATA, noting that in the near future we will approach the issue with the aim of finding a solution that will ensure the continuation of labor peace, which is also a priority of the government.
As the new Minister of Labor mentioned, we must operate in a human-centered way and focus on the human being, either as an employer or as an employee. It is important, he continued, to ensure fair and decent work on the one hand and fair wages on the other.
In a first reaction, the General Secretary of PEO Sotiroula Charalambous speaking to Sigma said that there are open, difficult issues such as that of ATA but also the employment of workers from third countries for which, as the former minister mentioned, he made unilateral decisions. At the same time, there must be a discussion about the pension and in particular about the issue of cutting 12% from the pensions.
For his part, the General Secretary of the KEBE Marios Tsiakkis noted that the issue of ATA is pending, however for the issue of workers from third countries noted that some decisions have been taken and we cannot discuss until we agree since there are serious labor shortages in many sectors of the economy and businesses must continue their activities. When you cannot find human resources from Cyprus and from EU countries, you necessarily have to bring them from third countries, he noted, stressing that it is not something that businesses seek since it costs more for a foreigner to pay for their ticket and accommodation of. Mr. Tsiakkis spoke of shortages, among others, in tourism, the focus on retail trade and many other branches of economic activity.
source: Economy Today
