No workers have yet arrived in Cyprus under the Egypt labour agreement, minister says

Nicosia, Cyprus. Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas acknowledged on Thursday that no workers have entered Cyprus under the intergovernmental agreement with Egypt. He called on employers and officials to make use of the arrangement to relieve labour shortages in the construction sector.

Minister’s remarks

Mousiouttas spoke to reporters after a meeting of the labour advisory board. He said that, for a range of reasons, “so far we have not managed to have a single arrival”. In his view, the deal has to be put into practice “so as not to leave Cyprus exposed” to a lack of workers.

Scope of the agreement

The arrangement was expanded during a ministerial trip to Egypt last Easter. It initially applied to livestock farming, and it now also covers construction, tourism, computing and retail.

The minister said that since the expansion, Cyprus and the Egyptian government have both worked to launch the process, so that people interested in working in particular professions can be identified.

Requests from employers

Applications have already reached the ministry. The employers’ federation (Oev) and the chamber of commerce (Keve) have forwarded requests from large companies looking for specific skills, chiefly in construction.

Mousiouttas warned that the shortage in construction cannot be explained solely by whether or not workers arrive from Egypt.

Memorandum of understanding

Cyprus and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2024. It governs the entry and residence of Egyptian workers and creates a joint committee to supervise the arrangement.

The building contractors’ association (Oseok) told the Cyprus Mail that the government had not made full use of the memorandum. It stressed that the industry requires about 5,000 additional workers to make up for labourers departing under the government’s Syrian repatriation scheme.