The enhancement of measures to combat undeclared and illegal employment will be a central topic at the upcoming session of the Labor Advisory Council, presided over by Labor Minister Yiannis Panayiotou, set for today, Friday. The session will also cover a package of measures for Turkish Cypriots.

The Labor Advisory Council, convening at 15:00, will discuss increasing inspections and targeting specific sites and times.

Additionally, the agenda includes expanding coordinated operations by the Ministry of Labor’s Inspection Service and the Police’s Aliens and Immigration Service.

The integration of available IT systems and existing databases for data and information utilization will also be discussed.

Another key issue is the outreach campaign for third-country nationals aged 17 to 65 who are legally in Cyprus but not registered as legally employed, as well as investigating the connection between employers practicing undeclared and illegal employment of foreigners and traffickers of illegal migrants.

An informational campaign on the consequences and impacts of undeclared and illegal employment, in cooperation with social partners and other relevant bodies, will also be a topic of discussion.

The electronic registration of all workers in the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance’s information system is another measure slated for discussion.

Further measures to be discussed include imposing a fine of €1000 for each case of undeclared work, doubling the fine for repeat offenses, and including main contractors along with subcontractors in the liability for undeclared work cases.

Regarding the measures for Turkish Cypriots, the discussion will cover the provision of widow’s pensions to beneficiaries, the right to participate in human resource programs as part of the action plan for the European Year of Skills, and the right to participate in training programs at the Productivity Center, as well as in educational seminars on EU acquis topics.

Minister Panayiotou will make a statement to the media at 17:00.