-
.
- Ελληνικά
The Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Mr.Yannis Panagiotou and the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Ms.Marilena Evangelou participated in the Employment and Social Policy Council of the European Union (EU), which took place in Luxembourg on 9 October 2023.
The Ministers discussed the challenges and impact of new technologies on work and ensuring a just green and digital transition. In his intervention, Panagiotou referred to the importance of skills development, informing about the relevant priority of the Republic of Cyprus, which launched a National Action Plan for the European Year of Skills. At the same time, he underlined that Cyprus will invest in the creation of a green and digital professional culture in order to be ready to adapt to change.
The Minister also supported the content of the recommendation on the development of social economy framework conditions which, he said, reflects the Union's parallel commitment to the development of the economy and the cohesion of society.
In addition, the Council members discussed the regulation of employees' working time. In his intervention, Mr Panayiotou referred to the important European legislative framework regulating working time issues and work-life balance. He said that he expected the House of Representatives to pass the Telework Bill, and in the context of the revision of the Minimum Wage Ordinance, the regulation of the corresponding working hours is an important issue.
In the discussion on the consolidation and strengthening of European Social Protection Systems, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Ms. Evangellou, referred to the challenges faced by the social protection systems of Cyprus due to the epidemiological crisis and the war in Ukraine. She presented the actions of the Republic of Cyprus to safeguard citizens' access to quality social protection services, with emphasis on the most vulnerable groups of the population. He also pointed out that the Minimum Guaranteed Income benefit system in Cyprus is considered one of the most adequate in the EU, noting that it is now focused on strengthening the integration of beneficiaries into the labour market and society at large. The Deputy Minister informed, among other things, about the new Child Protection Programme concerning the new Tuition and Feeding Subsidy Scheme for Children up to 4 years old, which reaches up to 80%.
The European Commission presented, the proposal for a Directive on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for people with disabilities. The Directive aims to facilitate the free movement of people with disabilities and to ensure mutual recognition of disability status in all 27 Member States. Cyprus was one of the 8 member states that successfully participated in the Disability Card pilot project.
The Council also adopted the following conclusions: a) on mental health and precarious work, b) on social protection of the self-employed and c) on measures to ensure equal access to adequate and unrestricted housing for Roma. In addition, the main messages of the Employment and Social Protection Committees in the context of the European Semester and a Decision on the Employment Guidelines were adopted.
In the margins of the Summit, Mr Panayiotou held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of State for Labour and Social Affairs of Germany, Mr Rolf Schmachtenberg, which focused on the exchange of best practices for attracting skilled workers from third countries to the labour market. Ms Evangelou held a bilateral meeting with her Greek counterpart, Ms Sophia Zacharaki, to exchange best practices on social policy and social protection issues.
MP/IS
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
