Aged up to 24, “our goal is to implement the strategy for youth employment putting over 7,500 young people in work, training or internships by 2017,” she said.

Measures implemented so far by the ministry have led to the announcement of nine new plans by the Cabinet with a total cost of €58 million, the minister said.

The number of registered unemployed dropped 9.1% to 40,876 in May from a year earlier, according to Cystat.

Plans involve offering incentives to hire unemployed people with particular focus on those that have been out of a job for a long time. “At the same time, we are encouraging utilising plans on giving unemployed people with degrees as well as graduates of secondary and higher education, training for work experience.”

Following recommendations by the EU Youth Guarantee scheme – which says states should ensure young people under 25 find a good quality job four months after leaving school or losing a job – and the Youth Opportunities Initiative by the EU Commission, the ministry has prepared an overall €47 million budget action plan to combat unemployment.

Specifically, €24 million of the amount deals exclusively with policies and plans to provide job opportunities for young people. The priorities of the state, she said apart from combating unemployment is to ensure all families have adequate financial support.

DEOK general secretary Diomides Diomidous stressed the necessity of fighting for employees’ rights. “We have only one choice. Together, all of us will make our presence known loudly in the modern day class struggle,” and fight for rights that people sacrificed themselves for with blood and death.

He called on unions to reorganise themselves to reinforce “the organisations, unity and collective powers of workers.”

Source: Cyprus Mail