The process of examining the requests for work permits of third-country nationals has been significantly accelerated, said the Minister of Labor Yannis Panagiotou after a meeting with representatives of the tourism industry in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis. In particular for the tourism industry, he said that the completion rate of the examination of applications exceeds 95%, thus ensuring full staffing ahead of the summer season.
Mr. Panagiotou noted that the process lasts less than two months, while in the past it lasted more than five months. He added that the time it takes to activate each work permit is now around one month, while previously it took twice as long.
“This acceleration resulted in the completion of the examination of the total requests that had been submitted until the end of May 2024, in a percentage greater than 85%,” he said.
He characteristically stated that by the end of May a total of 4146 new permits have been issued, confirming the estimates of the Ministry of Labor for additional new needs for work permits of foreign workers between 4000-6000.
He emphasized that for the tourism industry in particular the completion rate of the examination by the end of May exceeds 95% of the requests that have been submitted, which means that the possibility of full staffing ahead of the summer season has been ensured.
Additionally, he pointed out that the Department of Labor's employment service for foreigners has been reorganized and strengthened, and the work of simplifying and standardizing the internal procedures of the competent services has been completed with the support of an international consulting firm. He added that an IT contractor has already been assigned the development of an electronic platform for the submission and management of the requests submitted and bilateral agreements with third countries for the staffing of the labor market have already begun.
“It is estimated that by the end of 2024 the full upgrade will be completed and even more acceleration will be achieved,” he said.
He also committed to the continuation of the methodical implementation of the governance program of the President of the Republic and the constructive cooperation with the social partners for the development of the economy and the cohesion of society.
The The minister also stated that according to the data of the statistical service, a reduction in unemployment and an increase in employment is achieved, while an upward trend in wages is detected.
He added that the domestic manpower is not enough to cover all the additional labor needs, which makes it necessary to utilize workers from abroad according to the legal and prescribed procedures.
He added that although in the past the licensing process was complex and time-consuming with frequent confrontations between social partners about the needs, the implementation of the Government policy has normalized the situation, the labor market has been staffed and it is expected in the next period of time that with the utilization of technology the process will be further upgraded.
At the same time, he said, the agreement of the social partners for better cooperation between them was an important step that facilitated the collective effort being made from everyone.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis stated that labor issues concern the tourism industry not only in Cyprus but also in other tourism economies.
He noted that in terms of the procedures to solve the problem followed by the state, there has admittedly been a lot of progress as shown by the numbers.
He expressed satisfaction stating that something such certainly works beneficially for the tourism economy of the country.
Regarding the lack of labor force, he noted that the solutions are clearly in the open market, stressing however that the Government has tried to provide solutions and a strong proof is the conclusion of an agreement with Egypt.
Mr. Koumis also pointed out that the huge needs for employing personnel from third countries or other European countries are also due to a large extent to the huge increase in tourism in the last decade. He noted that a similar performance to last year is expected this year, as was the goal of the Deputy Ministry, adding that last year saw record revenue and a 20% increase in arrivals.
The President of the Pancypriot Association of Hoteliers (PASYXE) Thanos Michaelidis spoke of a significant improvement in the process of processing applications for work in the hotel industry. He explained that this is a result of a long consultation with the Ministry of Labor and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, in an effort to smooth out the difficulties they had in previous years.
He expressed the hope that this improvement will continue so that the processing of applications becomes even faster.
For his part, the President of the Association of Tourism Enterprises of Cyprus (STEK) Akis Vavlitis also noted the improvement in the examination of employment applications by the Ministry of Labor and also based on the recommendations of hotelier associations. He also expressed the hope that in the future the examination of applications will be further accelerated.
However, he noted that tourism businesses have never aimed to replace Cypriot hotel workers with third-party workers countries, noting the importance of human resources for hotels.
He also noted that in both Europe and America after the pandemic staff left the tourism industry and went in other sectors, which makes it necessary to employ staff from third countries.
Source: KYPE
