Cyprus hairdressers and barbeds express concern about growing unscrupulous competition from the salons that violate the established hours of work, including Sundays and holidays.
On Tuesday, April 22, the federation of hairdressers and barber appealed to the relevant authorities with a request to amend the legislation governing the activities of the industry.
“We want to restore order in a situation that got out of control. Some salons completely ignore the accepted norms and work on their own schedule - without accounting for resurrection, official holidays and even religious dates, ”said the Chairman of the Federation, Nakis Panteleides.
He gave an example when the salons were open even on Easter - on Sunday and Monday, as well as on Christmas and every Sunday during the year.
“Some begin to work in the morning and close at half past two in the night. This creates unhealthy competition. We are not against work, but we want everyone to act in equal terms, ”Panteledes said.
According to Panthelides, the main problem is due to the fact that many licensed hairdressers, controlled by foreigners, work outside the permissible schedule. Moreover, in one licensed hairdresser several people can work at once, officially not registered as employees, which raises questions about transparency and compliance with labor legislation.
“Who controls the number of workers in these salons? Who checks compliance with the terms of the license? " - Pantelides asked, adding that the Ministry of Trade is responsible for supervision, but the Federation is prohibited by the law to conduct inspections on the law, despite repeated requests to provide such powers.
The federation, however, does not advocate tough restrictions. According to the results of an internal survey among members, she proposes to introduce a flexible system of work, within which salons could freely choose six working days a week, with a mandatory five -day work schedule for staff. This would give the salons the opportunity to adapt to the demand and needs of customers without violating the market balance.
To date, most hairdressers are closed on Thursdays and Sundays, but some owners would like to work on Thursday and rest on Monday, and vice versa - the federation offers such flexibility.
The question attracted attention and parliamentarians. The deputy from the Green Party Stavros Papaduris noted that he was personally convinced of the existence of the problem, walking around the old city of Nicosia, where he discovered working salons on prohibited days. He has already contacted the Ministry of Trade, where they confirmed the presence of a problem and promised to consider possible measures to regulate the situation.
The Federation insists: it is necessary to create honest and transparent conditions for all market participants, as well as to ensure control over compliance with the law - not only for the sake of fair competition, but also for the quality of the services provided and the protection of the rights of employees.
Source: Cyprus-Mail.com
