Migrant workers and industrial relations

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The part played by migrant workers in the Cypriot economy and in society as a whole is increasingly becoming an issue of public debate, and in October 2003 the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) held a first conference on the issue. This article examines the number and situation of immigrant workers, the framework of law, collective bargaining and government policy, and the social partners’ position on this issue.

The presence of migrants in Cyprus is closely linked to the country’s rapid economic growth, as shaped by a series of external factors, mainly after 1974. The invasion and occupation of the northern part of the country by the Turkish army, the end of Beirut's role as a Middle Eastern 'hub' and the collapse of the regimes in eastern Europe, resulting in the 'deregulation' of investments in countries such as Cyprus, are some of these factors.

According to official data from the Department of Statistics and Research of the Statistical Service of Cyprus for 2001, the total number of migrants legally living and working in Cyprus was 29,730, comprising 6.8% of the whole labour force, compared with 2.5% in 1990. These data do not, however, include Greek immigrants, immigrants of Greek descent from the Black Sea area, domestic workers, performing artists, 'illegal immigrants' or permanent visitors (mainly European pensioners). Data are not available for all these categories, and while what data are available are only approximate. With regard to the illegal employment of migrants, data from the Statistics and Research Department for 2002 show the number of migrants illegally working and living in Cyprus to be somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000.

As a rule, immigrant workers are employed in manual, unskilled, low-paid and low-prestige jobs in which Cypriots show no interest. Furthermore, a significant number of immigrants perform 'atypical' work, mainly of a seasonal nature, and immigrants are often employed in extremely adverse conditions. As a result, they may be forced into conditions of isolation and restriction to specific areas, as in the case of domestic workers. However, unemployment is not a problem, since in order to be entitled to enter Cyprus they must have been offered a specific job for which no Cypriot was found.

The main countries of origin of immigrant workers are Moldavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, India and the Philippines. With the exception of the Lebanese and to a lesser extent the Jordanians, a substantial number of whom work in highly-skilled jobs, most of the immigrants from the other Middle Eastern countries are employed in the services, agriculture and industry as skilled or unskilled workers. Of the two-thirds of workers from Sri Lanka, India and the Philippines employed as domestic workers, the vast majority are women; the other third are employed in agriculture and livestock farming. Men predominate among immigrant workers in the construction industry: their main countries of origin are Syria and Egypt. A substantial number of immigrants are also employed in the tourism industry.

A particularly problematic sector is the 'sex industry', which includes part of the category of 'performing artists': on the whole, these are women who work mainly in nightclubs and cabarets. This is a problematic sector where 'slave-trade' conditions prevail, labour and social insurance legislation is severely violated and control mechanisms are non-existent.

Legislative framework and government policy

The growth rate of the Cypriot economy in the 1970s and 1980s led to increased demand for labour which could not be met by supply on the national level. Nevertheless, for many years government policy regarding the employment of immigrants remained restrictive, if not 'prohibitive': it allowed non-Cypriot workers to fill only executive positions and a few highly skilled managerial and technical positions. Work permits could be granted to non-Cypriots only in exceptional circumstances and on condition that there were no Cypriots with the required qualifications. As regards low-skilled jobs, in the first years after the invasion the 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees who were expelled by force from the occupied territory met a significant part of the demand, serving as the country’s source of cheap labour.

From the beginning of the 1990s, however, the lower growth rate of the economy compared with the preceding years, an increase in inflation, pressure from the employer side to reduce labour costs and the fear of further inflationary pressures led to the introduction of a 'foreign' labour force. Another decisive factor was the country’s low unemployment rate, along with full and stable employment for Cypriot workers.

Entry and residence of immigrants in Cyprus is regulated by the Aliens and Immigration Law, whose content has been repeatedly amended, and is widely regarded as outdated.

With the policy change in 1990, immigrants were divided into two categories for administrative purposes: those absorbed in sectors of economic activity where a permit from the Ministry of Labour is required; and those working in sectors where no such permit is required and whose residence status falls within the competency of the Foreign Ministry.

A basic precondition for such a permit to be granted is that the employer’s specific need cannot be met by Cypriot workers. The term of residence was initially set at two years, but later it was extended to four years. Different time limits on residence have been set for different sectors of economic activity. For example, musicians employed in hotels may remain in the country for two years, and return after staying abroad for three months. Seasonal workers employed in agriculture may work for three months only, and provided that they have obtained a permit from the Ministry of Labour.

Overall, as was also the case before 1990, immigrant employment policy continues to be characterised by impermanence and 'elasticity'. According to commentators, immigrants’ residence in Cyprus is dealt with as a temporary phenomenon, and no efforts are made towards their active participation and full integration in the country’s labour market and social life. In brief, three basic problems have been identified by critics:

• an absence of integrated, long-term planning, emanating from the mistaken impression that immigrant workers' residence will be short-lived.

• deficiencies on the legislative and institutional levels and a lack of control mechanisms with regard to the implementation and observance of the terms and conditions of employment, resulting in systematic discrimination against immigrants, both at work and in society as a whole; and

• a lack of political will regarding the full integration on an equal footing of immigrants in Cypriot society, on the basis of the principles of diversity, multiculturalism and social solidarity.

Collective bargaining

With the change in policy during the 1990s, work permits for immigrants, theoretically at least, are granted on the basis of the same employment conditions and rights that Cypriot workers enjoy, as provided for in the existing collective agreements and the provisions of labour legislation and social security legislation. In addition, their status has been ratified in a tripartite agreement reached by the government, employers' organisations and trade unions in 2001.

However, according to the findings of a first 'foreign workers conference' held on 8 October 2003 by the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO), the principle of equal treatment is not implemented in practice. The main conclusions of the conference may be summarised as follows:

• violation of the labour and trade union rights of immigrants is the rule rather than the exception. The problem is disturbingly worse in sectors where, for various reasons, there is no trade union representation;

• the issue of healthcare coverage for immigrants is pending resolution, as is the issue of transfer of their social insurance rights to their countries of origin;

• the employment status, working conditions and current regulations governing the pay of approximately 10,000 domestic workers are seen as as unacceptable, because they run counter not only to labour legislation but also to legislation on human rights; and

• there is a total lack of control mechanisms with regard to the observance of collective agreements and labour legislation.

Employers' organisation views

Overall, employers' organisations in Cyprus support a liberal policy with regard to the employment of migrant workers, on the basis of their lower labour costs. In the view of some commentators, this attitude has contributed decisively to the introduction of a 'cheap foreign labour force'. Furthermore, in the context of the temporary and elastic nature of government policy on the employment of immigrants, it is claimed that employers have acquired the ability to bypass the principle of equal treatment for immigrant workers with relative ease.

Trade union views

The initial reaction of the trade union organisations during the 1990s was 'defensive' towards immigrant workers, and was sometimes accompanied by comments which were regarded as xenophobic. Examples of this defensive approach included the Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK) and the Democratic Labour Federation of Cyprus (DEOK), which often took the position that increased unemployment was due to the presence of immigrants. This attitude gradually gave way to a more positive, albeit cautious one towards immigrants, which stressed the need to reduce their numbers in parallel with the need for their full integration on an equal footing in work and in society.

As concerns the low rates of union density among immigrants, it should be noted that the unions have failed to organise such workers in certain sectors of economic activity, mainly owing to the following factors:

• a lack of a tradition of union activity and organisation in certain sectors of the economy, such as agriculture;

• opposition from the employer side;

• political inertia regarding the application of specific criteria to the employment of immigrants, as determined by the tripartite agreement of 2001; and

• difficulty in joining the unions experienced by seasonal workers.

A characteristic example of the changed union attitude towards immigrant workers is the view that there are no 'illegal workers' but rather 'illegal employers', along with the recognition on the part of the unions that discrimination against immigrants is likely to have a negative impact on the terms and conditions of employment of Cypriot workers as well.

In this context, the first foreign workers conference held on the initiative of PEO is expected to change radically the prevailing situation, by laying a new basis for the immigrants’ demands and their integration and representation in the trade unions. To this end, as a result of the conference a PEO Immigrant Workers Bureau has been set up; of its 11 members, five are immigrants.

Commentary

The disadvantaged position of migrant workers in Cyprus makes it imperative first and foremost radically to reform immigrant employment policy on all levels. Also of decisive importance will be the creation, maintenance and implementation of a strong collective bargaining framework, on the basis of which immigrants’ terms and conditions of employment will be precisely determined. Of equal importance is in-depth research into the characteristics of immigrants, aimed at determining which factors are to blame for their weak bargaining power and position in the labour hierarchy. (Nikos Trimikliniotis, INEK/PEO)