MPs will vote on extending parental leave and increasing childbirth benefits on 12 December, with committee members broadly backing the measures aimed at addressing Cyprus’s falling birth rates.
Labour Committee chair Andreas Kafkalias welcomed the initiatives but called for a wider strategy, including paid care leave and revised family benefits. The government has requested to delay implementing the extended parental leave pending cabinet approval.
The childbirth benefit increase will be backdated to 1 October 2024. A €20 million funding boost has been deemed sustainable for the social insurance fund.
MPs stressed the need for additional measures, including family-based taxation, expanded income criteria for benefits, and extended school hours to tackle demographic challenges.
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