Barbers and hairdressers have complained about unfair competition from shops that do not keep normal hours and even operate on Sundays and public holidays, media reported on Tuesday.

The complaints come from the Federation of Hairdressers and Barbers. On Tuesday, federation head Nakis Pantelides told a news television programme that they’re pushing for amendments to the relevant legislation to rein in the current free-for-all situation.

According to Pantelides, the main problem has to do with foreign nationals who operate licensed barber shops but do not keep established working hours agreed by the trade.

“They’ve created a work timetable all of their own. They don’t care if it’s Sunday, or a holiday, or a religious holiday. There were shops open on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday,” Pantelides said.

“The same happened at Christmas, and it’s the same thing every Sunday. We’re talking about a timetable up until 10, 11 or 12pm.

“We don’t want these businesses to shut down. But when a Cypriot hairdresser goes to work at 8am and closes up at 7pm – a normal timetable for human beings – and the other guy opens up at 6am till 11.30pm, that’s not healthy competition.”

Asked who checks the working hours, Pantelides said the responsibility lies with the commerce ministry.

“For years, our federation has been asking that we take over the checks. But under the law, we cannot, so we’re trying to amend it.

“You’ve got a barber’s shop where the licence is obtained by one person, but four to five people may work there. They might be registered, or they might not. Who does the checking?”

Cypriot-owned barber shops also break the rules, but usually this is during the daylight hours.

The federation says it wants a freer work timetable, as some establishments want to take the day off on Mondays and work on Thursdays, while others vice versa.

“We polled our members, and the verdict was that barber shops should be able to stay open six days a week if they so wish. Employees would work five days a week.”

Currently barber shops and hairdressers close on Thursdays and Sundays.

Greens MP Stavros Papadouris said he confirmed the situation with irregular opening hours after taking a walk in the old town of Nicosia.

He made inquiries with the commerce ministry, which conceded that a problem does exist.