Customs workers in Limassol and Nicosia went on a 24-hour strike on Thursday, demanding more time to implement the new automated import system.

Cyprus customs officers’ association chairman Christos Akaros had explained in advance of the strike on Wednesday that a European Union directive on the matter had stipulated that between 12 and 24 months’ worth of training be given to the workers, but that the local authorities on the island had scheduled the system’s implementation for June.

This schedule, he said, came after the system had been prepared in February, effectively giving workers only four months to get to grips with the new system.

He added that eventually, an extension was granted until September 29 for the new system to be fully implemented, but that this extension is still not enough, as “in the context of our training, we identify problems, delays, and pitfalls in the system, which creates the risk of errors being made”.

As such, he said, workers had warned the customs department about the problems, but “they did not respond”, and in view of this, they had decided to go on strike.

“We are requesting a postponement of the implementation of the system until the problems and errors about which we have informed them … are corrected, and until there is full training,” he said.

He added that the strike is expected to impact the customs clearance of shipping containers, which will stay in an “already overcrowded area of the Limassol port” until they can be checked.

If the authorities do not respond to the workers’ requests, he said, “we will continue to abstain indefinitely from using the new system”.