Cyprus passes new rules on domestic housemaids

Cyprus has introduced new rules governing the stay of domestic housemaids who will find it much tougher to shift employers during their stay here. Most housemaids seek to work for different employers or freelance as they are paid by the hour, whereas monthly pay is not as lucrative.
There are currently some 22,000 housemaids in Cyprus that have a work permit, while 2006 saw a drop in the number of applications from more than 11,500 during the two previous years, to less than one thousand.
According to press reports, hundreds of housemaids accused their employers of mistreating them in an attempt to gain work in a number of houses, something that would give them a much higher income. The employers, who had paid the cost of their transport to Cyprus, were left out to dry.
There was also talk of a ring of people working in cahoots with the housemaids in return for a cut on their earnings. The Interior Ministry does seem concerned enough to tighten the noose on those housemaids who try to beat the system.
Under the new policy, effective immediately, a housemaid will not be allowed to change employer during her first year of employment, except in extraordinary circumstances, such as when the employer dies, emigrates, is admitted to an old people’s home, or if the employer has committed a criminal offence against the housemaid.
Moreover, during a typical four-year contract, a housemaid cannot switch homes more than twice, unless a labour dispute arises that is adjudged in the housemaid’s favour.
Also, it is now prohibited to change homes after continuous employment of three-and-a-half years. The exception to this is if the foreign national has lived on the island for five continuous years, giving them the right to apply for a long-term residency.
In the event a housemaid has vanished and is wanted by police, or in the event she has applied for political asylum and her employer wants to hire a new person, the relevant department will take into account how many times previously the same employer has been abandoned. If this has occurred more than twice, permission may be denied to the employer to hire a new housemaid.