With 42 votes, the Plenary voted in favor of amending the Law on the Army of the Republic, in order to enable the Minister of Defence, following a proposal by the Chief of the National Guard, to facilitate – by his decision – the military members of the boards of professional associations, namely the Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers Association of the Cypriot Army, so as to effectively exercise their duties.

The regulation was deemed necessary after taking into account the Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 1990, according to which trade union representatives must be released from their official duties in order to participate in activities related to their professional associations.

Also, the Report of the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights 2020 was also taken into consideration. The said report mentions the obligation of the state to release trade union representatives from their official duties during the time when they participate in meetings and other activities related to their union.

The legislation governing the labor relations of public servants was also taken into account, which provides for the obligation to facilitate worker representatives both during their working and non-working hours.

The obligation arose from the harmonization of the legislation in question with European Directives.

According to evidence presented during the defence committee debate, the proposed amendment was deemed necessary for the purpose of equal treatment of the professional associations of military members with other professional associations of government employees, who are already given the option of being relieved of their official duties in certain cases, in accordance with the legislative framework governing labor relations.

However, as was pointed out, the provision of said facilitations must not hinder the smooth operation of the National Guard.

It was clarified by the Minister of Defence that the decision will be made after the recommendation of the Chief of the National Guard and that facilitations will be provided in moderation when deemed necessary.

Furthermore, the Chief of the National Guard informed the committee that at this stage such facilities are already provided, however, it was deemed more appropriate to institutionalize this issue.

Source: CNA

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