Once again, workers paid the price of profitability with their lives.

These accidents are the result of inadequate training of employees on Occupational Safety and Health issues, the absence of controls and the disregard for basic protection rules.

On construction sites, where risks are heightened and daily, the existence and adherence to safety procedures is not a luxury. It is a prerequisite for life.

Employers have enormous responsibilities. It is not enough to hire staff, but they must ensure that every worker is properly trained, that there is access to the necessary personal protective equipment, and that professional qualification and training standards are implemented.

These standards – which link skills to safe practice – are not just bureaucratic tools. They are shields to protect workers’ lives.

The state is not innocent. Control mechanisms are under-functioning, inspections are not satisfactory, and lenient sanctions do not prevent violations of regulations.

At the same time, in workplaces where there is no union coverage and workers are not organized in unions, accidents are more frequent, as there is no one to advocate, report and demand the implementation of legislation.

The union presence on every construction site is crucial. It is the one that can push for training, for decent working conditions, for the implementation of professional qualification standards, for inspections. It is the one that can give a voice to workers before the silence of the dead speaks.

We cannot get used to death at work. Workers’ lives are not statistics. They are families, they are dreams, they are people.

We demand: Mandatory training on Health and Safety issues, implementation of qualification standards, strengthening of controls, union presence in every workplace.

So that the workers return home alive.

The Builders’ Union PEO is no longer expressing simple concern. We express our anguish over the dimensions that the phenomenon of occupational accidents, especially fatal accidents, is now taking in the sectors represented by the Union.

We express our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased colleagues and hope that they will be the last victims of this unacceptable situation.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PEO BUILDING ASSOCIATION

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Trade unionists Mohammed Blaidi, Suzan Abdel-Salam and Yahya Arqawee spoke about the humanitarian drama and struggle of the Palestinians who are under constant bombardment and attacks by the Israeli army

In her address, PEO General Secretary Sotiroulla Charalambous stated that “PEO, as part of the international class movement under the umbrella of the WFTU, stands firmly and over time on the side of the Palestinian workers and the Palestinian people in general. This is what we have always done, this is what we have been doing since the first moment of the Palestinian genocidal operation in Gaza.”

She also denounced the fact that the US and the European Union cover up and encourage Israel’s forces to promote their own geopolitical interests in the region, while regarding the stance of the Cyprus government, she described it as provocative and problematic since it is increasingly tied to US and NATO policies. 

Present at the event were the Ambassador of Palestine to Cyprus Abdalla Attari, the General Secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) Pambis Kyritsis, the President of the Cyprus Peace Council Tasos Costeas, the Head of AKEL’s International Relations Department Vera Polycarpou and members of the General Council, the Executive Council and the Executive Bureau of PEO.

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The strike is following the refusal of the Organization, which is a semi-public organization, to agree on a collective agreement for the workers who have been hired since the day the Organization was founded. It is noted that despite the long period of time given since the announcement of the strike, there has been no substantial intervention by the Ministry of Health and the Government.

The State Health Services Organizations’ staff, of all professions, participate in the strike, gathering outside public hospitals.

The workers’ assemblies have decided to escalate the strike action in case the State Health Services Organization continues not to accept the conclusion of a collective agreement, similar to the existing agreements of the wider public sector.

WFTU’s affiliate, PEO, and other trade unions as well, declared in a statement that they stand in solidarity with the workers and will cooperate to vindicate their struggle.

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