A PUBLIC row raged on yesterday over what the government claims is the hoteliers’ practice of firing Cypriot workers in favour of cheaper, often uninsured, EU personnel.

Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous yesterday picked up where President Demetris Christofias left off in censuring the hoteliers on Tuesday, saying inspections have found that over one-third of the EU nationals working at hotels had no social security or other benefits.

Charalambous said the system was not only discriminatory, but in some cases also illegal, as a large percentage of non-Cypriot EU workers were working uninsured.

Source: Cyprus mail