Catering establishments say more staff needed to better operate

The federation of leisure centre owners (Osika) has reached out to colleges, universities, and relevant state agencies to resolve problems faced by its members, including lack of staffing.

“For decades we’ve been playing catch-up at the last minute,” association President Neophytos Thrasyvoulou told the Cyprus News Agency on Thursday, adding that proper planning is required for the upcoming tourist season.

The biggest problems facing the catering industry, Thrasyvoulou said, were finding the workforce, training staff, and time-consuming bureaucratic procedures.

In terms of securing staffing, the association is seeking to push for students who complete studies in the catering business to be enabled to legally remain in Cyprus and work thereafter for another one to two years.

The issue has been brought up with the deputy minister of tourism, while separate meetings will follow in November with the ministers of education and labour, and a meeting with the minister of commerce is also planned.

Thrasyvoulou noted that another hinderance to the sector were drawn out licensing procedures which do not adhere to set timeframes, and result in some permits not being secured until the season’s end.

“The many controls and permits inconvenience us and are affecting our quality-of-service provision,” the association head said.

He argued leisure venues operate under an anachronistic labour regime from 1968, when conditions were completely different, and advocated for a single licensing provider to be instituted to simplify the bureaucracy down to a “one stop shop.”

Osika’s meetings with educational institutions on training workers to meet the sector’s needs are ongoing, the association head said.