PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday expressed outrage at recent reports that hoteliers were firing Cypriot workers in favour of cheaper EU labour, especially after all the support the sector has received from the state.
Christofias laid into hoteliers during the Cyprus Hotel Association’s (PASYXE) general assembly, which marked the association’s 75th anniversary.
It has been widely reported lately that a number of Cypriots, especially in Paphos, had been fired by local hoteliers – who were publicly slammed by Labour Minister Sotiroula Charalambous last week – using the financial crisis as an excuse.
This has been denied by PASYXE.
“I am saddened to note that in recent times, we have become witness to unacceptable behaviour, which I personally and our government feel especially strongly about,” said the President. “I am referring to the phenomenon of firing Cypriot workers using various excuses and hiring others, mainly EU workers, with lower wages and benefits. This behaviour is not socially acceptable, because it wrongfully leads people to unemployment, condemns workers to working for lower wages and harms the tourist product that we are trying to promote.”
He said it was unheard of for the state to be taking constant initiatives and making sacrifices to help the sector, “only for the hoteliers’ response to be to provoke more social and financial problems for Cyprus and its people”.
Christofias added: “We expect PASYXE to take care of incidents whereby its members are not adhering to collective agreements and labour laws.”
On a brighter note, Christofias said 2011 was expected to be a good year for tourism, with an increase expected in tourists from Russia – the flow of which increased by 50 per cent last year – and Britain.
“There are positive indicators regarding winter tourism also,” he added, as well as an increase in routes to Paphos Airport.
Head of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), Alekos Oroundiotis said the state would do its best to continue assisting the current improvement in tourism figures – he said there had been a 24 per cent increase in tourist arrivals and revenue during the first four months of this year.
“From now on, the ball is in your court,” he told hoteliers. “You must ensure that, this summer, new visitors have a positive experience at your businesses, so that their visit is repeated.”
Oroundiotis said he hoped hoteliers didn’t waste the opportunities offered to them by the state, as well as the airports’ management’s decision to reduce airport duties.
“We continue to operate at significantly higher costs compared to competitor destinations,” he pointed out. “We therefore suggest that special care and modesty is shown on the matter of pricing, as our credibility and future as a destination are at stake.
“Cypriot hospitality was once considered a comparative advantage for our tourism; I feel that I am not in a position to say this with the same certainty today,” he said. “We would prefer if Cypriots were employed in the sensitive ‘front line’ posts, most of whom I feel have the element of hospitality embedded in them.”
Last to speak was PASYXE president Charis Loizides, who said that Oroundiotis had tempted him to engage in a debate – “which (Oroundiotis) seems intent on starting” – but that he would respect the celebratory nature of PASYXE’s anniversary and refrain.
He called on the government for a more long-term strategy for tourism, also complaining that the measures offered so far – including a €52 million boost in 2008 to help lower hotel prices, which didn’t really go down much – were insufficient compared to those offered by other states.
Loizides said it was worth remembering that 2010 saw the industry suffer €600 million in losses and a 500,000 reduction in arrivals, compared to 2001.
“We need to stop looking at tourism in the short term and engage in conflicts over whether there were increases or reductions compared to last year,” he said.
