Welfare staff protest over lack of security

Welfare officers staged an impromptu 30-minute strike on Wednesday to protest against being assaulted by a woman with an airgun the previous day in Larnaca.

The workers demanded security measures to protect “frontline” officers from such incidents.

The head of the branch, Kalia Christodoulou, said officers understood the problems faced by many people due to the economic crisis but from the moment lives were in danger measures must be taken to protect them.

“Security rules are already in force but they do not meet the standards,” Christodoulou said.

The protest came after a 32-year-old woman, believed to be suffering from mental problems, went in the welfare office in Larnaca and threatened two employees with an airgun demanding money.

There were also members of the public in the reception area at the time.

The woman – who had been hospitalised at the Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital in the past – claimed that they had cut her benefits.
She was transferred to Athalassa upon arrest. Prior to the incident, Larnaca police had filed a request to have her committed there on an unrelated charge.

Officers are doing their best to respond to the public’s requests and such actions were unjustified, Christodoulou said.

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