Domestic workers from overseas who work in Cyprus are entitled to social insurance benefits while in the country and to pensions once they retire, even if they then leave the country, Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou said on Friday.

In a response to a written question on the matter from Disy MP Rita Superman which was published on business news website Stockwatch, he explained that anyone working in the Republic of Cyprus is obliged to pay social insurance contributions, and that these contributions are matched by their employers and the government’s permanent fund.

“Domestic helpers, based on the time they spent in Cyprus, and taking into account the contribution conditions which must be met according to the law, can apply for benefits from the social insurance fund,” he said.

These benefits, he added, can include sickness benefits, maternity pay, and other social insurance benefits.

He then added that domestic workers who meet the minimum requirements, “like all Cypriots who contribute to the social insurance fund, are also entitled to long-term benefits like pensions”.

In cases where a domestic worker has relocated either back to their country of origin or to a third country, he added, the pension to which they are entitled can be sent to them, regardless of where they reside.

“Therefore, in the event that a domestic worker has the right to a statutory pension, they will receive it in the country in which they reside,” he said.

There are more than 20,000 third country nationals employed as domestic workers in Cyprus, the plurality of whom are Nepalese, with many others coming from Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

However, earlier in the year, the Council of Europe’s group of experts on action against trafficking in human beings (Greta) highlighted that many domestic workers in Cyprus do not enjoy the same rights and protections in work as the local workforce or European Union citizens who work on the island.

It called on Cyprus’ authorities to “increase oversight of the employment of foreign and domestic workers and allow them to change employers without their immigration status being affected”.

Migrant workers, it said, must “enjoy the same rights and protections, including the same minimum wage, as Cypriot and EU workers”