Construction firms not seeking Egyptian workers, ministry says

Construction companies have not applied to bring in Egyptian workers under the intergovernmental labour scheme, the ministry said on Tuesday, rejecting suggestions from the sector that the government alone is responsible for the scheme’s delays. A ministry spokesman told the Cyprus Mail that employers submit terms of employment to the ministry for verification, a process that takes at most six weeks. Any further delays, it said, would stem from the migration paperwork for third country nationals, and for the Egyptian scheme to come to fruition depends entirely on employer interest. “For but one Egyptian to come to Cyprus, we require companies to voice interest in the scheme and submit the workers they require, along with the collective agreements,” it said. “At present, we are not seeing such interest.” A source close to negotiations between the construction sector and the labour ministry pointed to an unwillingness among large construction firms to offer proper wages under collective agreements. That, the source said, contrasts with the previous arrangement under which Syrian workers were often paid “off the books”. Under the sectoral collective agreement signed in 2024, minimum pay for a 38-hour week is €486.48 for builders and ironsmiths, and €412.49 for general workers. The agreement has since been renewed until the end of 2027. The labour inspection service was due to carry out checks across the construction industry in October, targeting undeclared workers and compliance with working hours and weekly rest. An employer found with an undeclared worker faces a fine of €1,000 per employee, rising by €500 for every six months the violation continues. Employers have called on the state to ease the hiring of foreign workers as contractors in Cyprus wait up to eight months to recruit construction labourers. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail the employer’s federation (OEV) said the construction sector requires a steady supply of labour to plan new investment. “The state is responsible for ensuring such a framework works effectively,” the federation said, adding that any employment framework “must be implemented without unjustified delays”, and that “Cypriot and EU workers are at present unwilling to fill the roles”. It called on the government to modernise and digitise the process as “the construction industry cannot wait”. The federation also pointed to the quota system as a source of friction with trade unions, for firms may employ third country nationals up to 30 per cent of their workforce, rising to 50 per cent where they are covered by a collective agreement. OEV argued that even companies fully compliant with collective agreements find 50 per cent insufficient. Unions have resisted raising the limits, arguing that recruitment from outside the EU would depress pay and conditions. The building contractors’ association (Oseok) said “shortages affect almost all technical trades, including steel fixers, specialists, and stonemasons”. Contractor Konstantinos Karmiotis told the Cyprus Mail that EU workers are also leaving Cyprus after “finding opportunities in their home states and many Syrians have returned since the repatriation efforts”. Turkish Cypriot labourers, who made up a significant part of his skilled workforce, are declining to cross over for work “due to the growing cost of fuel” and are instead “opting for closer projects in the north where a construction boom is offering higher daily wages”. Karmiotis explained that despite the repatriations, many Syrians remain, and have progressed to subcontractors, charging by the job instead of by the day, which has raised labour costs for contractors. Oseok estimates that the industry needs about 5,000 more workers to replace those departing. “We must replenish the workforce as the domestic market either does not want to or cannot meet the demand,” it said. Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas conceded after a session of the labour advisory board that “so far we have not managed to have a single arrival” under the agreement with Egypt. He urged employers and officials to use the scheme “so as not to leave Cyprus exposed” to shortages, but cautioned that the problem “does not depend only on whether workers will come from Egypt or not”. Cyprus and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2024 that regulates the entry and residence of Egyptian workers and establishes a joint committee to oversee it. Karmiotis said recruiting Egyptians is at present significantly more difficult than hiring from EU countries such as Romania or Bulgaria due to “the lengthy and colossal paperwork”. The property developers’ association warned that the labour shortage is a major obstacle to increasing housing supply and that projects must be capable of completion within a reasonable time. Oseok wants the rules on foreign workers changed, arguing that the quota system does not meet the needs of smaller contractors and subcontractors. The federation will hold an expanded meeting with its stakeholders on November 14.