Civil servants’ trade union Pasydy on Thursday condemned a violent attack on an institutional officer by a resident at a juvenile detention centre in Nicosia on Monday night.

The union expressed serious concern over safety conditions at care facilities for both children and staff.

In a statement, the union said the incident “highlights, in the most graphic way, the very serious issue of lack of safety” in these institutions.

They emphasised that officers face daily challenges managing dangerous situations in outdated facilities, often without adequate support.

Pasydy warned that urgent action is needed to improve safety and wellbeing for staff and children in state care.

They called for the immediate creation and operation of modern, specialised care structures staffed by personnel capable of meeting children’s complex needs, to “ensure the protection, dignity and rights of all.”

“Safety, health and protection are not vague or insignificant concepts and their safeguarding is not negotiable. They constitute a fundamental obligation of the State towards employees and the children it has undertaken to protect,” the union added.