Police urge motorists to avoid central Nicosia ahead of protest

The police urged motorists to avoid Nicosia’s arterial Digenis Akritas Avenue on Thursday afternoon, with trade union PEO set to stage a march from its offices to the labour ministry at 5pm. “Police officers will be in the area to take the necessary security and traffic measures, as well as to facilitate the flow of traffic. The public is urged to avoid, where possible, traffic in the affected areas, to show patience and to comply with the instructions given by police officers,” the police said. PEO has said the protest will be held “for health and safety at work”, with the protest being organised after three construction workers fell from a height of nine metres at a building site in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos earlier this month. That incident came after a 52-year-old man died on a building site in the Paphos district village of Peyia last month, with unions as such questioning the levels of safety and the safeguarding measures taken at building sites across the country.