UNEMPLOYMENT in Cyprus is at very satisfactory levels, though this doesn’t mean the government will rest assured, the Labour Minister told Parliament yesterday.
Presenting her ministry’s budget for 2009, Sotiroula Charalambous informed the House Finance Committee that unemployment in September reached just 3.8 per cent, according to European statistics.
“At this moment, the employment situation is very positive,” Charalambous said after briefing. “But we are closely observing the situation so we can be prepared.
“Regarding the consequences of the financial crisis on the real economy, we must not overreact, nor scaremonger, though of course we cannot rest assured, and the government will not rest assured.”
The employment situation is being closely observed by the ministry as well as trade unions and employers’ organisations,
Charalambous said. “We will be prepared at any given moment, if there are worrying trends, to be aware and prepared to deal with them.”
Regarding low pensions, the minister avoided giving a specific timeframe for when there would be increases, saying this would depend on an investigation currently underway by her ministry in co-operation with the Finance Ministry.
“We must see the survey and the suggestions that will be made, how much an increase in low pensions will cost, so we can see how to move ahead. Our aim is to prepare a complete policy to increase low pensions, which will help us gradually implement everything we committed to,” said Charalambous.
The ministry’s budget for next year is €791.7 million – a 16 per cent increase compared to last year’s €682.6 million.
Regular expenses have increased by 18 per cent, reaching €772.4 million, while development costs amount to €18.3 million, excluding projects co-funded with the EU.
Committee Chairman Antigoni Papadopoulou of DIKO later told reporters the ministry’s budget had been prepared before the international financial crisis, which was why she hoped the crisis would not touch Cyprus, “so the current government can realise all its well-aimed policies”.
AKEL deputy and Chairman of the House Labour Committee, Pambis Kyritsis, expressed his satisfaction at the fact that the ministry’s budget had increased significantly from last year, seeing that it is the most socially occupied ministry.
