E/C.12/CYP/CO/6
social protection, and strengthening complaint mechanisms and labour inspections to
protect those rights.
Minimum wage
23.
The Committee is concerned at the very low level of coverage (13 per cent) of the
workforce by minimum wages and at the insufficient level of the minimum wages, which
have been frozen since 2012 (art. 7).
24.
The Committee recommends that the State party take the measures necessary
to expand coverage to all workers entitled to the minimum wage. It also recommends
that the State party increase the minimum wages and regularly adjust them to the cost
of living so as to ensure an adequate standard of living for workers and their families.
The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 23 (2016)
on the right to just and favourable conditions of work.
Right to just and favourable conditions of work
25.
While noting that issues relating to wages and working conditions are mainly
resolved by means of collective agreements arrived at through tripartite social dialogue, the
number of such agreements is declining and the Committee is concerned at the limited legal
regulation of labour relations. It is also concerned at the decreasing unionization rate and
the lack of detailed information on how the rights of non-unionized workers are protected
(arts. 7 and 8).
26.
The Committee recommends that the State party incorporate the labour rights
enshrined in the Covenant in its law, ensure that collective agreements are in
conformity with those rights, and take all measures necessary to ensure that the
labour rights of both unionized and non-unionized employees, including the rights to
just and favourable conditions of work, are fully protected.
Migrant workers
27.
The Committee reiterates its concern that non-European Union migrants continue to
experience labour exploitation and social isolation, especially those working in the farming
and agricultural sector. It is concerned at the precarious situation of domestic workers, the
majority of whom are non-European Union migrant women, and at the absence of labour
inspections to monitor their working conditions. The Committee regrets the State party’s
intention not to regularize the situation of undocumented migrant workers and the lack of
information on their situation in the State party (arts. 2 (2), 6 and 7).
28.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Ensure that the terms of employment and working conditions of migrant
workers are adequately and regularly regulated and inspected;
(b)
Ensure that the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment
and Vocational Training (Amendment) Law of 2002 and the Safety and Health at
Work (Amendment) Law of 2011 are applied to domestic work;
(c)
Expedite the adoption of the national action plan on the integration of
migrants legally residing in Cyprus, originally envisaged for 2014-2016, and fully
implement it once it has been adopted;
(d)
Reconsider its position on the regularization of undocumented migrants
and provide, in its next periodic report, information on the situation of undocumented
migrants and on the measures taken to protect their economic, social and cultural
rights.
6