Exploitation of foreign workers

EVEN THE police are involved in the exploitation of foreign workers, said Georgios Stylianou yesterday, president of the federation of recruitment agencies. Speaking after the arrest of a 38-year-old in connection with charges of trafficking and exploiting 110 Romanian workers, Stylianou said even members of the police force were acting as “agents” for foreign workers. He told state broadcaster CyBC yesterday that “uniformed police officers, prison employees and fire service officials systematically come and apply for licences for foreigners to work”. He accused the state of not doing enough to prevent this, calling on the authorities to “take such action to forbid any involvement”. Responding to his claims, Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous said her ministry was “at anyone’s disposal who wishes to file charges relating to these crimes or other violations”. Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said no such information had been given to police, nor has anyone reported any official charges regarding Stylianou’s claim. “We publicly state our pledge to investigate any charges brought before us. So we ask that information be given to us and we will immediately begin our investigations,” he said. Meanwhile, EDEK-affiliated union DEOK has opened a special account for the exploited Romanian workers, contributing €1,700 to the account already. Since the case went public, over 160 other Romanian workers have made fresh allegations against the 38-year-old Cypriot of labour exploitation and trafficking, similar to the ones he is currently being investigated for.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.