Complaints regarding the hiring of workers through temporary employment agencies “are linked to slave trade and human trafficking”, the House labour committee chairman and Disy MP Giorgos Koukoumas, said on Monday.

Koukoumas said the discussion, raised at the initiative of Akel, followed complaints from trade union organisations over the extensive use of hiring practices in sectors despite being explicitly prohibited by law, including in construction and tourism.

He described the practice as one that “further dissolves labour relations in our country, circumvents collective agreements, creates two-tier workers,” whilst worsening existing problems relating to the employment of foreign workers.

He said unions had reported cases involving what he described as “some baptised employers, who transport workers in buses or vans and leave them at workplaces, construction sites or elsewhere to work under degrading working conditions and for a pittance.”

Koukoumas said the relevant labour ministerial department had acknowledged the existence of such cases and informed that the committee expected data on whether sanctions or criminal proceedings had followed.

He also questioned why a bill addressing the liability of main contractors in the construction sector had not yet reached parliament, saying it was needed “to close other legal windows that exist in such cases.”

He said the committee would continue to pursue the matter, describing the practice as “blatantly anti-labour and also illegal.”

Disy MP Andreas Constantinou said the complaints raised a worrying phenomenon, calling for inspections to distinguish clearly between the legitimate hiring of services and the unlawful supply of workers through employment agencies.

“If through this process it is determined that there are gaps in the existing legislation, we are ready to examine the necessary regulations so that the framework is clear and implemented effectively, in order to prevent a modern slave trade,” he stressed.

The complaints echo warnings raised by hotel sector unions last month, when Sek secretary-general Michalis Frangou described conditions in parts of the industry as a “slave market.”

Frangou said some hotels were sourcing third country workers from agencies originally contracted to supply staff to other sectors, allowing employers to bypass sector-wide collective agreements.

Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas responded to those warnings by insisting Cyprus “is not a slave market,” pledging that his ministry, working with the labour department, would investigate the unions’ complaints.

The hoteliers’ association (Pasyxe) has denied receiving any complaints involving illegal employment at its member hotels, with its chief Christos Angelides saying licensed agencies are permitted under existing law to supply workers from third countries.