Trades union representatives say that workers in the private sector work long hours, have seen a fall in their standard of living and have financial problems. This is made worse because they do not belong to a union, Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Havadis’ reports.
The trades unions accuse the government of inaction, despite the fact that they know what measures need to be taken to alleviate the situation for working people; adding that their only concern is to garner votes.
84, 000 people are employed in both the public and private sector, 18,000 of whom work for the public sector.
In the private sector almost half those employed – 31,000 are foreigners who have work permits. ‘Havadis’ says that there are estimated to be around 5,000 workers who work illegally in the TRNC.
