No workers have yet arrived in Cyprus under the bilateral labour agreement with Egypt, Labour Minister Marinos Moushouttas said on Thursday. He said the deal must be put into effect to fill staff shortages in specific occupations and to avoid leaving the Republic of Cyprus exposed.
The ministry is examining requests from large companies, mainly in construction, passed on by the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEBE). Moushouttas said the government was working with the Egyptian side to identify workers with the required skills.
Speaking after a meeting of the Labour Advisory Board, he said the agreement was not limited to construction, as other manual occupations were also short of staff. Its scope was widened during a visit to Egypt last Easter. It originally covered agriculture, livestock farming and a few other occupations, and now also covers construction, tourism, computing and retail.
The two governments have since been working to start the process of finding people able to fill specific jobs, he said, and the ministry has briefed employers extensively on the agreement.
Moushouttas said employers who used the agreement would have their applications processed faster, after the ministry agreed with the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection to give such applications priority. They would also have more flexibility on certain percentages, within the limits of the law, though he did not specify which.
“We must implement the agreement so as not to leave the Republic of Cyprus exposed,” he said.
The minister said tackling the shortage of construction workers did not depend solely on arrivals from Egypt. The ministry was supporting employers through a policy in force since February 2025, aimed at processing applications as quickly as possible in construction and other occupations.
(information from CNA)
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