Employees working in education ministry support programmes protested outside the ministry on Wednesday, calling for their full service to be recognised and for clearer arrangements over employment and pay.

Representatives of permanent and fixed term staff submitted a memorandum to the ministerial permanent secretary Marios Panayides, who said the ministry was working with employees and unions to address their concerns.

“We are trying to help and address all the problems,” Panayides said, adding that legislation had recently been approved to convert eligible workers to indefinite contracts.

He said the ministry would implement the legislation and make the necessary announcements as soon as possible, while seeking to employ both permanent staff and fixed term workers according to the needs of its programmes.

The employees said, however, that years of service had been fragmented because many had moved between different support programmes under ministry decisions.

“We are asking for the obvious, that our real service and contribution be recognised,” delegation member Eugenia Andreou said.

She said some workers remained outside the indefinite employment framework despite having no control over the transfers between programmes.

She also raised concerns over workers being left without adequate income during the summer.

“Workers with families and obligations are left for months without salary and without benefits,” Andreou said.

Panayides said eligibility for unemployment benefits fell under the labour ministry, adding that the education ministry had submitted the names of workers entitled to receive them.

The two ministries are also examining legislation concerning the conversion of fixed term employees into permanent staff.

Permanent teacher Elena Mitella said workers converted to permanent status on April 21 had been placed in an “unprecedented category” because they remained on nine-month contracts.

“We are in a phantom category,” she remarked, arguing that the arrangement left them without either a 12-month salary or access to unemployment benefits during the summer.

The employees called for an immediate meeting with the relevant authorities to clarify their status and employment arrangements.

“We are not asking for mercy,” Andreou stressed, “we are simply asking for the job uncertainty to stop, for our overall service to be counted and for our work security to be ensured.”