A round-table organised in Nicosia on 30 July, marking the UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, warned that foreign workers in Cyprus remain vulnerable to contract substitution, withheld wages and opaque recruitment chains. Lawyers, trade-union officials and NGO representatives argued that the problem is less about gaps in legislation than about poor enforcement and the limited ability of migrants to assert their rights. Attorney Eleni Charalambous noted that non-EU nationals often find it difficult to navigate residence-permit categories and court procedures, leading to long periods of irregular employment or unemployment. Participants called on the Civil Registry and Migration Department to publish real-time information—in multiple languages—clarifying when asylum-seekers and students may accept paid work. Union representatives from SEK and PEO proposed a multilingual smartphone app that would explain collective agreements, minimum-wage entitlements and complaint mechanisms, a tool modelled on platforms already in use by seasonal-worker programmes in Finland and Portugal. They also pressed for stricter auditing of subcontracting chains in the hotel and agriculture sectors, where brokerage fees can push total recruitment costs above €3 000 per worker. For employers, the message is clear: compliance checks are set to intensify. Businesses sponsoring third-country nationals should review payroll records, ensure that employment contracts match those submitted to immigration authorities, and prepare translated versions of health-and-safety guidelines. The government, for its part, hinted it may tie future work-permit quotas to proof that companies offer fair-recruitment pathways. If implemented, the proposals would bring Cyprus closer to the EU’s 2026 directive on decent work in tourism and could position the island as a safer destination for international talent—critical as the hospitality sector braces for a record 4.5 million visitors next year.
Source: Cyprus Mail
