Cyprus: Jobs at risk from rising cement costs
According to the head of the Federation of Constructors’ Associations, Nicos Kelepeshis, around 200-300 construction workers are registered unemployed by the Labour Department every month and the number will continue to increase if the cement industry doesn’t change its mind.
In a briefing at the House Commerce Committee yesterday, Kelepeshis presented a survey that showed there were currently between 1,200 and 1,270 construction workers registered unemployed. This number is expected to increase to 1,600 by April
The Committee sent a plea to the cement industry - similar to the one voiced by the Commerce Minister recently - to refrain from imposing the increases, at least for the time being.
It seemed the appeal had worked yesterday as the Commerce Minister said the Vasilikos cement factory had agreed to suspend its increase.
According to an announcement by Minister Antonis Paschalides yesterday afternoon, the factory has pledged to postpone their decision for a few months.
Paschalides deemed this a "positive move", especially for the construction sector during the financial crisis.
"The initiative I developed over the past few days to postpone the price of cement has proved fruitful and I have just been informed that the Vasilikos cement factory will postpone its new pricing policy following our intervention," the minister said.
Source: Cyprus Mail Published under Cement News
