Pregnant Romanian woman to receive benefit to take her off the building site

THE heavily pregnant Romanian mother who was discovered working construction in order to support two young children will receive a monthly benefit of £320, the Labour Minister said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters regarding Carmen Paslarou’s case, Antonis Vassiliou said the woman had been given public assistance in the past and that the welfare services had undertaken to help her now.

He said Paslarou, who lives and works in the Nicosia district, had previously turned down a job as a housemaid, found for her by the social welfare services, because it paid less than construction.

“As such, because she is working, she is not allowed public assistance according to the law. Despite this, some assistance has been given to her at some times, while soon she will receive a monthly benefit of £320 as well as an additional sum for her rent,” Vassiliou said.

The Romanian single mother’s plight was aired on Sigma’s news bulletin on Wednesday.
The nine month pregnant Paslarou was filmed lifting bricks and mixing cement to put food on the table for two other children.

During her interview with the station, Paslarou also mentioned that she’d had no electricity for almost two weeks.

The family’s financial state prompted a public outcry from deputies who said the woman had fallen victim to a legal loophole that had prevented her access to public assistance.

Paslarou was in Cyprus on a visitor’s permit and as such not allowed to work or have access to public assistance. As an EU national and as the mother of two Cypriot children had she changed her status from visitor to that of permanent resident, she would have been entitled to a whole host of rights including welfare benefits and free medical care.