THE Labour Inspection Department yesterday held an impromptu strike after a colleague was attacked while on duty the day before.
The officials held the 10-minute strike to express their “intense displeasure” over extreme behaviour their fellow inspectors face in carrying out their duties. The matter, they said in an announcement, had reached its peak after their colleague was attacked on Thursday afternoon, while inspecting a workplace in Nicosia.
“Such behaviour is reprehensible and will not prevent labour inspectors from continuing to exercise their duties to ensure health and safety levels in the workforce are constantly and steadily improving, and that workers, the public and the environment, are protected,” they said.
In the wake of Thursday’s attack, the announcement added: “The employees at the Labour Inspection Department decided to hold an impromptu 10-minute work stoppage, to express their sadness over the incident and offer their support towards their colleague”.
The employees called for active support towards the task carried out by labour inspectors.
“We expect all implicated parties to support the employees of the Labour Inspection Department and condemn (Thursday’s) incident,” they said. “We hope such acts of violence against officials of the state, while they are executing their duties, will not be repeated, as they have no place in Cypriot society and cannot prevent the department from carrying out its work.”
Speaking to the CyBC yesterday, the president of the employees’ union, Tasoula Kyprianidou Leontidou, said such incidents were a daily phenomenon.
“It is the continuation of a chain of violent acts against inspectors,” she said.
According to Leontidou, the recent incident saw an inspector visit a workplace to deal with an emergency, only to be attacked by the employer.
Last year, she added, an inspector also sustained a number of injuries after being assaulted by an employer.
“The incident was reported to the police,” said Leontidou, who added that this was why no further details had been given out about Thursday’s attack.
The Labour Ministry did not share Leontidou’s view on the frequency of attacks, saying Thursday’s violence was an “isolated incident”.
It expressed support for the inspector attacked in its own announcement yesterday, noting: “such behaviour is unacceptable, and it is in the interests of all employers to facilitate the work of inspectors in performing their duties rather than preventing them from doing so”.
Trade union PEO also strongly condemned the abuse incident yesterday, stressing its solidarity and support towards the inspector who was attacked.
