The plenary of the House of Representatives unanimously approved on Thursday amending regulations on the granting of leave in the public service, under which the prior service of employees moving to the public service is recognised and counted for the purposes of annual leave.
What the regulations provide
The regulations amend the existing framework for granting leave, providing that the previous service of indefinite-term employees, as well as of staff transferring to the public service from other state services or organisations, will be taken into account in determining the number of days of annual leave to which they are entitled.
Specifically, the new arrangements cover indefinite-term employees, as well as staff appointed to the public service following service in the security forces, the armed forces, the public educational service or public law entities. The aim is for them to retain the number of leave days they had under their previous employment status, with their years of service counting towards the future scaling of their leave.
The regulations also extend to hourly-paid government staff and hourly-paid staff of public law entities appointed to a post in the public service. In these cases, the more favourable annual leave entitlement is retained until, through service in the new post, they qualify for the next leave scale.
The regulations apply retroactively from 1 January 2018.
Statements in the plenary
Presenting the regulations, the Chair of the House Finance Committee and DIKO MP Christiana Erotokritou said they concern the prior service of indefinite-term employees, which until now was not taken into account when calculating annual leave days upon their transfer to the public service. She said the arrangements correct a distortion and promote equal treatment of workers.
AKEL MP Aristos Damianou said the regulations settle a long-standing problem, which is why his party would vote in favour. He added, however, that the broader observations submitted by trade unions during the discussion at the Finance Committee should also be examined.
DISY MP Savia Orphanidou said the regulations move in the right direction, noting that the issue should have been resolved long ago so that this particular discrimination would not exist. She added that certain observations submitted by the unions should be examined at a later stage.
AKEL MP Christos Christofides said that while the government tables legislation regulating matters for civil servants, it continues to deny indefinite-term teachers established rights enjoyed by civil servants. He described the situation as a paradox with no logical explanation.
The amending regulations were approved unanimously, with 50 votes in favour.
Source: CNA
