Prison staff welcomed government plans to build new prison facilities and recruit additional guards in union statement released on Thursday.

The prison branch of Pasydy described announcements by Justice Minister Costas Fitiris on the construction of new prisons on the outskirts of Nicosia and the immediate reinforcement of staffing levels as a critical first step in the right direction.

The union said the measures respond to well documented demands from staff and reflect a political will to introduce substantive reform of the penitentiary system.

However, it stressed that the situation within the prisons has now reached breaking point.

Within Pasydy’s statement it referred to “severe and persistent understaffing, heightened risks to the safety of both staff and inmates and exhausting working conditions” that have pushed the system to the limits of its endurance.

According to the union, prison officers have “carried the burden of a system that has functioned only marginally for years”.

The union called for the government’s commitments to be translated immediately into concrete action.

“Clear and binding implementation timetables must be set, vacant posts should be promoted for filling without delay and staff representatives must be substantively involved at every stage of decision making and implementation.”

Pasydy said it would remain an “active and reliable” interlocutor in any genuine effort to modernise and upgrade the prison system, while making clear that it will closely monitor progress and will not accept a repetition of past practices in which “commitments were made but never fulfilled”.

It reaffirmed its right to pursue action should the rights, safety or dignity of staff be undermined.

The minister announced his plans on Wednesday during his fourth visit to the central prisons in less than a month.

Fitiris confirmed that plans to expand the existing prison complex have been suspended and that new facilities will instead be built elsewhere, though he did not specify a location. In the past the village of Marki near Nicosia had been suggested as a possible site.

He said architectural planning and construction procedures would begin imminently.

Fitiris also announced that 90 new prison guards will be recruited within the month and will undergo mandatory training.

He described prison officers as the cornerstone of an effective correctional system and said success should be measured by whether those serving sentences are better integrated into society upon release.

Additional measures outlined by the minister include the reopening and upgrading of the prison guard training school, and strengthened nursing and mental health support for both inmates and staff.

He said society expects tangible results rather than intentions and pledged to continue regular visits to the prisons as reforms progress.