Cyprus Business Now

Labour union Democratic Labour Federation of Cyprus (Deok) this week issued a statement expressing strong dissatisfaction with the “manifestly inadequate sentence” of suspended imprisonment imposed by the Larnaca permanent criminal court on employers for labour exploitation.

The organisation expressed the expectation that the Attorney General will file an appeal, calling this an “unacceptable decision” that leaves Cypriot justice exposed.

Deok noted that the specific employers employed workers in the agricultural sector in conditions that offend human dignity.

The organisation further stated that such decisions encourage rather than prevent bad employers from exploiting vulnerable workers from third countries.

What is more, the union said that the state itself bears serious responsibility for the unacceptable situation that prevails regarding employment conditions in agriculture and livestock, putting the Ministry of Labour under the spotlight.

“The ministry has turned into an agency for uncontrolled processing of employment permits for foreign workers without checking and ensuring that even the minimum basic criteria of decent work are met,” the union said.

Deok also expressed the opinion that the recent strategy of open borders for the employment of workers from third countries “will lead to a greater exacerbation of the problem”.

The organisation called on the new Minister of Labour to respond to the request of the trade unions for a meaningful social dialogue with the aim of protecting workers, whether they are Cypriots or they come from third countries.

According to Deok’s statement, the European Union has been calling on the Cypriot Government for a decade to take measures to protect workers from third countries, characterising Cyprus as one of the worst countries in Europe in terms of protecting and ensuring both decent work and the livelihood of workers in agriculture and livestock breeding.

Finally, the organisation called on the government to take immediate action to ensure that minimum basic criteria of decent work are met for all workers, regardless of their country of origin.

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) this week announced that it has decided to maintain the countercyclical buffer rate at 0.5 per cent, with an implementation date of November 30, 2023.

According to an announcement, the central bank, in accordance with the Macroprudential Supervision of Institutions Laws of 2015 to 2022, deemed it appropriate to maintain the percentage of the countercyclical buffer at 0.5 per cent, a rate adopted based on the last decision of the CBC dated November 30, 2022.

In addition, this percentage refers to the total amount of exposure to risk of each licensed credit institution established and operating in the Republic of Cyprus.

“The rate in question applies from November 30, 2023,” the CBC concluded.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, April 13 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 107.13 points at 12:55 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.50 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 64.77 points, representing a drop of 0.51 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €10,537.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes fell by 0.53 per cent and 0.29 per cent respectively. The hotel and investment firm indexes remained unchanged from the previous day.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-1.17 per cent), Hellenic Bank (no change), Logicom (-0.93 per cent), Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (-1.46 per cent), and LCP Holdings (+4.55 per cent).