Unions say hotel workers in Paphos being exploited

HOTEL workers in Paphos have complained that for the past two weeks they have been working every day with no extra pay.

Their unions said staff were being paid the same amount on weekends as weekdays even though the rate should be 1.5 times pay on Saturday and double time on Sunday.

Workers also said they were being forced to work longer hours but when they complained, they were told by the department heads to leave if they could not comply.

PEO district representative Nicos Savvides said in some cases employers exploited foreign workers – EU nationals and others — and this had negative effects for Cypriot employees.

Savvides said the union would look into the matter and urged employers to respect their workers.

He said such phenomena of exploiting workers – Cypriots and foreigners – were frequent.

Savvides said his union did not send workers to certain hotels because of the exploitation.

His colleague at SEK said some employers flouted every rule regarding timetables – even the one mandating 11 hours of rest.

Neophytos Xenofontos said there were cases where workers left their place of employment at 1am and were forced to return at 7am.

Hoteliers said such incidents were isolated.

A spokesman for PASYXE said such phenomena may be observed in one or two hotels in Paphos but they were the exception and not the rule.

Evripides Loizides urged all sides to sit together and resolve the matter without unnecessary trouble.

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