Cyprus – Desk Research on the national context

Dec 26, 2021 | Research

Historical trends and development of Digital transformation in Cyprus
What is the national structure of the economy

Cyprus economy is small mixed economy. Its small open economy is well known for its resilience with an ongoing expansion in the last 30 years, until the financial crisis of 2009 that impacted the economy. The GDP for 2020 was €21 billions.

Following this crisis the economy and after the implementation of the agreement of Cyprus reform project with the International Monetary Fund , Cyprus exceed expectations and managed to put its economy back to growth, ranking its economy as one of the fastest growing EU economies. At this time banking sector was completely reformed, by boosting and diversifying their capital base and cut their non performing loans by 65%. Also one of the big banks went bankrupt. At the same time the Cypriot Government brought its debt under 100% of GDP, with a reform in its public finances. Something amazing was the fact that Cypriot debt to IMF was paid five years earlier than the expected end that was agreed.

The medium-term focus is on continuing structural reforms that will encourage investment, raise the economy’s competitiveness and leverage the eurozone economy’s highly educated population.

The Cyprus economy is dominated by services for 82.7% in 2019, while industry sector was 8%, construction sector 7%, and agriculture, forestry and fishing 2.3%. In the last twenty years there was a turn of the economy to services sector. As Cyprus is island tourism remains one of the most significant sectors, due to its wider impact on retail, transport, construction and employment. Its value-added contribution in the economy has now been overtaken by professional, financial and real estate services.

Diversification has been made possible due to the fact that Cyprus was been established as an international business centre. Other services that had been in low levels but are growing rapidly in the last 10 years are information and communication service sectors. Also administrative services are rising fast as a result of the growing of compliance industry.

Despite the economic crisis from the banking sector the economy recovered back fast returning to growth in 2015 with an annual real GDP growth of 5.4%. Opposite to this amazing growth the Covid-19 pandemic raised new threats. The challenge for the government now is to limit the impact of this pandemic. In order to support businesses had contributed to them €1.3 billion (6.4% of GDP), mainly to cover salaries and also another €1.9 billion to support banks liquidity.

Forecasts for the future

Today Cyprus in terms of digital transition ranks at 24th place out of the 28 EU Member states according to the 2020 European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). Prior to the pandemic the data shows that Cyprus managed to improve its scores on all DESI dimensions in terms of connectivity and use of internet, but it is still below EU average scores. We have to point out that 10% of Cypriot citizens have never used the internet and 50% don’t have basic digital skills.

To face this new challenges the Cyprus government decided some actions that will take place in order to move to new digital era. Some of them are

Promotion of e-government as a part of its strategy, fostering a new economic model with a vision to become a dynamic and competitive economy, driven by research, scientific excellence, innovation and technological development.

Upgrade infrastructure for connectivity with an aim to bridge divides ensure an inclusive digital transformation. Its goal is to ensure 5G and fiber coverage by 100% of the population living in organized communities.

Dealing with this health crisis the government continued its structural reforms in order to run and implement this strategy of the digital transformation. To achieve this they developed the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.

This deputy ministry has the responsibility to run and develop programs in order to run the digital transformation. Some programs that will lead to modernization of the internal state operation machine are the introduction of:

A resource management system ( ERP)

Office automation system ( eOASIS) , to manage the public services mail

Central antivirus system, to protect the hardware and software of public sector

Unified government network, to centralize and upgrade of telephone services in all dimensions

Expansion of the government information repository, upgrade and enriched with new features

Creation of a data center, unification of public sector IT departments

Digitalization of services, a continuous development of new and improvement of existing services such as the social insurance payment ( Labour and Social Insurance Ministry) and the digitalization of Tax Department

Optimization of government portal Ariadne, improvement of the existing system

Modernization of Local Authorities e-government systems that will provide uniform electronic services to the citizens.

Also the ministry aims to improve other software systems that exist in the public services in order to complete government’s strategy. During the Covid-19 pandemic the ministry had run in cooperation with the National Health Organization the Vaccination Program. Another action that is taking place is the introduction of digital ID with the development of digital signatures.

In addition to the above components there are digital projects which are related to other reforms such as

Digital transformation of courts

Smart cities

Reform of the Law service

Modernizing public and local authorities

Deployment of generic cross border eHealth services in Cyprus

National Framework

At the time of writing the report there is no specific legislation concerning digitalization in Cyprus. Cyprus has been a bit slow in implementing any legislation in regards to digitalization of economy and this is addressed to many aspects of digitalization and not specifically on the aspect of digitalization dealing with the world of work in general.  In a recent publication in the Cyprus Mail it has been noted that Cyprus was in trouble in regard to failing to deliver the benefits of EU digital legislation in the area of audio-visual media and telecommunications. It said the delay restricts choice and weakens protection for both businesses and consumers and gave two months to remedy the situation, otherwise, it may refer their cases to the EU Court of Justice.  Cyprus and other states are required to transpose into their national laws two new sets of rules: the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive and the European Electronic Communications Code, both of which are crucial for the EU’s digital transition.  Therefore we can see that Cyprus is slow into the transition of the digital era and it is not moving quickly in adopting legislation for this transition.   Despite the delays and the not existence of specific regulation, there is discussion going on involving social partners and other stakeholders for the constitution of legislation that would regulate teleworking in Cyprus.  The draft legislation that is being discussed is trying to regulate many aspects of teleworking such as the cost incurred by the employee during teleworking, issues relating to the employee’s health and safety, the right to disconnect, the right of the employee for not being monitored amongst others.  Moreover the framework for telework that has been created in 2002 and has been dormant for many year, is drawing attention following the pandemic that has forced the need for teleworking and the discussion that is in place regarding the need for the creation of teleworking.  In the beginning of the year (Feb 2021) the General Secretary of Cyprus Workers’ Confederation has called on the social partners and especially the employers sides to view the need created from the use of teleworking during the pandemic in ceasing the opportunity to regulate the issue.  Besides this, the affiliated member of the EU social partners that have signed the EU Framework on digitalization are also of the opinion that this matter should also be regulated and become part of the collective bargaining agreements.  Although there is no clear legislation in regards to digitalization and all the forms of employment associated with, it is clear that the discussion has been started which is something that can be termed as positive especially having in mind that no such terms ever existed in the discussion a couple of years before.  Of course all of these discussions revolving around the need to regulate digitalization pinpoint other regulation that make reference to other regulations in regards to digitalization that might have somehow go unnoticed.  The GDPR is placing a lot of pressure to the data protection and states that organisations also need to provide the individuals with the rights and requirements deriving from the fairness principle, which refers, for example, to the need for organisations deploying AI applications to be aware of implications that this deployment may have on individuals and their rights and freedoms but also on communities and societal groups.  Furthermore and although it is indeed clear that no legislation exists, there are many aspects in place that somehow promote and try to regulate digitalization.  The government has developed and implemented data protection legislation with adequate and co-ordinated levels of enforcement, addressing the development of fintech, retail, AI and digital health in order to ensure equivalent and adequate levels of protection and additionally, Cyprus recognises that digital transformation, boosting investment in scientific research and innovative entrepreneurship is the prospering of every citizen and company alike in a dynamic digital economy. In Cyprus, the Institute for Research and Innovation supports innovative projects and research, by providing funding opportunities and overseeing the participation of research/innovation projects to domestic and international competitions.  As of March 1 2020, the Cyprus government has been operating a Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, as part of the Ministry of Finance, which was established in order to promote, guide and develop the digital transformation of Cyprus, while facilitating the operation of start-up businesses and supporting the Institute for Research and Innovation.  In its strategic planning the Deputy Ministry is focusing on a number of strategies that are linked with digitalization and on the ministry’s strategic enabler is referring to digital transformation. The ministry will try to ensure that necessary strategies, technologies, infrastructures and skills for digital transformation of the economy are interlocked with the Research & Innovation  ecosystem, as facilitating and enabling factors for knowledge sharing and innovation. The Digital  transformation should  mark  a  radical  rethinking  of  how  a  company,  an  organization,  the  public   sector and the society uses technology, people and processes to radically change performance.  Throughout this strategy enabler, the Ministry will be focusing on

  • Adoption of strategies such as the National Digital Strategy and E-Government Strategy;
  • Focus on leading technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT), Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT);
  • Support of infrastructures related to Electronic Communications and Information Technology;
  • Development of skills and competencies required to support the fast pace in which technology is adopted in everyday life and the widespread disruption expected to occur in business models   and the labour market within the next decade

In line with the Ministry’s aim of developing the skills and competencies required, the Human Resource Development Authority in its research paper for the training needs of the economy in 2020 is placing a lot of importance in the enhancement of digital skills in the New Industrial Policy will help develop a flexible, “Smart” and technologically advanced industry with enhanced participation in GDP of the country, something that will help developing innovative products and services of high added value that will contribute to the sustainability and competitiveness of the Cypriot industry.  The report also states that the return of the economy to positive growth rates and the growing need for digital transformation, creates prospects new jobs but it will also intensify the need for the acquisition of new and / or the upgrading of existing knowledge and skills.  In its effort to support this digital transformation the Human Resources Development has developed 40 training programs for the acquisition of the knowledge needed.

Another current aspect that makes a lot of references to the digitalization of the economy and prioritizes amongst others, the digital transformation of the country is the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan (2021-2026). The Cypriot plan is structured around the five policy areas: public health and civil protection; the green transition; economic resilience and competitiveness; The actions identified incorporate recommendations stemming from the new National Digital Strategy (June 2020), which aims to achieve the digital transformation of the public sector, promote the digital transformation of the private sector, and promote innovation in line with the Country’s level of digital maturity.  In all the components identified in the plan it is quite obvious that the digitalizatio and digital transfomation are quite apparent.  It is quite clear that Cyprus is lacking the digital aspect, something which is identified in the plan.  In terms of digital transition, Cyprus ranks 24  out of the 28 EU Member States based on the 2020 edition of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).  The latest available data (prior to the pandemic) shows that Cyprus has improved its scores on all  DESI dimensions but mostly in terms of connectivity and use of the internet, although it still  scores below the EU average. As a result The RRP is a key means through which Cyprus will drive forward its digital transformation by devoting 23% of the estimated cost to digital objectives therefore complying with the draft RRF Regulation. The actions identified incorporate recommendations stemming from the new National Digital Strategy (June 2020), which aims to achieve the digital transformation of the public sector, promote the digital transformation of the private sector, and promote innovation in line with the Country’s level of digital maturity. These actions are primarily included in the components under the Policy Axis 4 Towards a digital era.

  • Component 4.1 Upgrade infrastructure for connectivity aims to bridge divides and ensure an inclusive digital transformation. Ensuring adequate access to communication infrastructures for all citizens is essential for the realisation of the opportunities of digital transformation. Specifically, it aims at ensuring 5G and fibre coverage for 100% of the population living in organised communities, including deployment of 5G along the main terrestrial corridors, and enabling universal and affordable access to Gigabit connectivity in all urban and rural areas, including 5G and Gigabit connectivity, in line with the EU’s 2025 5G and Gigabit connectivity objectives.
  • Component 4.2 Promote e-government is a fundamental part of the overall policy and strategy of the Government for the digital transformation of Cyprus, fostering a new economic model with a vision to become a dynamic and competitive economy, driven by research, scientific excellence, innovation, technological development and entrepreneurship, and a regional hub in these fundamental areas. In addition to these two components there are digital projects which relate to other CSR/reform areas and appear under the corresponding axes/components – e.g. Digital Transformation of Courts, Smart Cities  and Reform of the Law Service under Component 3.4 Modernizing public  and local authorities, making justice more efficient and fighting corruption and Deployment of generic cross border eHealth services in Cyprus under Component 1.1 Resilient and Effective  Health System, Enhanced Civil Protection.

As we have already analysed, Cyprus does not have any specific legislation in regards to digitalization.  There are however a number of other efforts from governmental authorities, private institutions as well as other stakeholders that are placing a lot of their efforts for bringing digitalization to the society and the world of work with the aim of making the transition as smooth as possible and of course as soon as possible.  The Cyprus government is fully aware of the need to transit the economy to the new digital era and it is by no surprise that the Deputy Ministry of Research and Innovation was created and it is of course by no surprise that more than 20% of the RRI will be allocated for the digital transition.  It is also worth noting that Cyprus government is planning to move up several gears to digitalise its economy, with a €283 million EU-backed recovery fund, while teaming up with Estonia, considered the champion of e-government and the president of president Anastasiades is planning to visit Estonia where the two countries will sign an updated Memorandum of Cooperation in e-government, information, and communication technologies.  On the other hand private institutions are fully aware of the importance of the fourth industrial revolution and are working into bringing it to the economy.  CyRIC is a regional network hub of research, innovation, business and industry organisations, utilizing state of the art infrastructure, in order to bring the fourth digital revolution in Cyprus by offering cutting-edge digital technology innovations and services to the manufacturing industry. It is therefore quite clear that all the issues that have been analysed would somehow need some sort of controls and monitoring, and it is our belief that the fact that once the importance of the digital transformation has been identified and efforts are been made to move to the fourth industrial revolution combined with the fact that the functioning and the monitoring of this digital transformation will indeed create the new in the very near future for the creation of the legislation to guide this digitalization era that Cyprus will be entering very shortly.

The Role of Social Partners

State of play

In Cyprus there is a strong tradition of bipartite and tripartite social dialogue which is deeply entrenched both in custom and practice, since the establishment of the Republic in 1960. The voluntary industrial relations system through which employers and trade unions negotiate freely on all matters relevant to the employment sphere, has secured industrial peace throughout the decades.[1]

The discussions, consultations and negotiations between employers and trade unions, are set out in the Industrial Relations Code (IRC), a Social Partner Agreement signed back in 1977. This agreement was concluded between the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB), the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK), the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) and the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance. It recognises the right of employers and employees to organise freely and establishes procedures for the settlement of disputes arising from collective agreement negotiations. More specifically, the Code sets out the process to be followed when matters arise either through negotiating collective agreements or while interpreting such agreements and acknowledges a consultation process for matters of common understanding.

It follows from the extensive involvement role of Social Partners that their role in the adoption of the European Social Partners Autonomous Framework Agreements and its implementation on a national level, is not only important but also a prerequisite for a smooth transition. More specifically, two of these Agreements have been adopted through the joint signing of policy statements, namely the agreements on Work – Related Stress and Violence and Harassment at Work, exemplifying thus the collective commitment to improving the Cypriot workplace environments, making them free of violence, harassment and stress for all persons at work.

The Framework Agreements on Telework, Inclusive Labour Markets, Active Ageing and an Intergenerational Approach and Digitalisation have yet to be officially adopted.

The latest Framework Agreement on Digitalisation, signed by the European Social Partners in June 2020, sets out a partnership process between employers and employee representatives in order to achieve a smooth transition and successfully integrate digital technologies in the workplace.  The main issues identified as key topics to be discussed during the process include the following:

  1. Skills.
  2. Working conditions/work life balance/Health and Safety.
  3. Work relations.
  4. Work organisation.

In relation to the topic of skills, the relevant body in Cyprus is the Human Resource Development Authority (HRDAuth), the Governing Body of which consists of government representatives and representatives of employer organisations and trade unions. The Authority is funded by mandatory employer contributions which amount to 0.5% of the payable earnings of their employees and its mission is to create the prerequisites for planned and systematic training and development, through such programs, surveys and reports, of the human capital of Cyprus at all levels and in all areas so as to meet the needs of the economy.

The main tools of skills anticipation in Cyprus are the studies run by the HRDA which are used to predict future labour market needs. However, an important role is also played by the Ministry of Finance which collects and analyses information on the state of the national economy and proposes actions and legislative measures, the Ministry of Education and Culture which works on the development and implementation of educational policy and the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance which has responsibility for introducing employment and social policy measures.[2]

Through their participation in the HRDAuth, the role of Social Partners in monitoring the needs of the labour market and formulating training programs in the context of digital transformation is even more prominent. It is also noted that Social Partners also operate as training centres, providing specialised programs for their members.

While currently achieving significant results, it is crucial for Social Partners to take into account the rapid developments in the field of technology and promote the necessary investments for the training of employees in order to enrich their knowledge, expand their skills (especially digital skills) and remain productive in upskill as well as acquire new skills so that they can be employed in new jobs and in different sectors of economic activity in case the company in which they are employed suspends its activities (reskill). Employer organisations put forth claims that there is a lack of workers to cover current labour demands (September 2021) while trade unions insist on the improvement of terms and conditions of employment in some fields in order to become more attractive.

In relation to the topic of working conditions, a number of issues are dealt with through collective bargaining and the conclusion of collective agreements (such as working hours, time off, agreed paid leave periods etc) while other issues such as health and safety matters, are discussed by Social Partners at the Pancyprian Health and Safety Council that is the advisory body to the Minister of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance.

Work relations deal with interpersonal relationships and with social interaction between employees themselves and between employees and the business, an area not touched upon by the Social Partners in Cyprus as a collective matter.

Lastly, work organisation is a more complex matter as it deals with internal company structures, organigrams and systems. This topic, according to the IRC, falls under the topic of matters of common understanding, where the two sides are obligated to discuss, but the decision remains as an employer prerogative. In some cases, however, through negotiations, the organigrams and other structures have been added as addendums to the collective agreements thus making them negotiable. In these cases, the involvement of Social Partners is catalytic as they can only be amended through agreements.

Challenges and opportunities

The Framework Agreement sets out in its introduction the challenges and opportunities and more specifically, ‘The digital transformation brings clear benefits for employers, workers and jobseekers alike, in terms of new job opportunities, increased productivity, improvements in working conditions and new ways of organising work and improved quality of services and products. Overall, with the right strategies, it can lead to employment growth and job retention. The transition also comes with challenges and risks for workers and enterprises, as some tasks will disappear and many others will change. This requires the anticipation of change, the delivery of skills needed for workers and enterprises to succeed in the digital age. Others include work organisation and working conditions, work life balance and accessibility of technology, including infrastructure, across the economy and regions. Specific approaches are also needed for SMEs to embrace digitalisation in a way that is tailored to their specific circumstances.’[3]

In light of the above, examples of the challenges and opportunities faced by social dialogue in relation to the digital transformation in the workplace include:

  1. managing new employment opportunities Vs jobs that will be lost,
  2. tackling with new forms of work that are thus far unknown and unconventional,
  3. setting the training needs of the future to keep people employable,
  4. assisting SMEs in the transition era especially at company level,
  5. maintaining productivity and safeguarding work – life balance,
  6. dealing with health and safety issues that may arise.

Digitalisation is a process that will create employment opportunities and stipulate growth. It is undoubted that the introduction of new technology will render some traditional job positions void, thus leading to number of employees becoming redundant. The role of Social Partners will be to predict and assess the impact in time so as to find mutually accepted solutions to lessen the problem. It is necessary for the Social Partners to be trained sufficiently in order to be able to identify the challenges and have the capacity to manage them. Understanding new fields of economic activity and technology, will enable employer representatives and Trade Unions to better manage the changes.

Relevant research should be carried out and disseminated in order to raise awareness on the impact of technology. The research should first deal with an overview of workplace realities, then an assessment of how digitalisation falls in and then a check list of actions and follow up steps to be taken. Forming the guiding principles to approach the issue, will assist Social Partners in the process.

Towards this end, Social Partner Capacity Building programs and funding are considered a priority for Cyprus. It is noteworthy that Eurofound defines ‘capacity building’ as ‘the enhancement of the skills, abilities and powers of social partners to engage effectively at different levels (EU, national, regional, sectoral, company and establishment) in the following industrial relations processes: social dialogue, collective bargaining, (co-)regulating the employment relationship, tripartite and bipartite consultations, public policymaking and influencing public policymaking via advocacy’[4], exemplifying the wide spectrum of Social Partner activities, engagement and role.

New forms of employment have always been a controversial topic for the social dialogue agenda in Cyprus as trade unions have always been sceptical about flexible forms of employment. This has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic as a large number of employees were forced into telework in order to preserve public health. According to Eurostat, prior to the crisis, only 1,2% of Cypriots were working mostly from home.[5] Although there are no data on telework after 2020, it is acknowledged by all that the percentage of teleworkers has risen to unprecedented levels.

The sudden push into telework and its emergence as a needed form of employment, has forced the Social Partners to look into it more carefully so as to understand it better and take any measures necessary to adjust it to the real needs of both sides and normalise it. The challenges with the digital transformation will be to go through the process of evaluating new forms of employment as they arise and find ways to enable them and make them work.

In the area of setting the training needs for the future to keep people employable, the most important role will be that of the HRDauth as analysed previously. As the Framework Agreement sets out at the beginning of the relevant chapter, ‘the main objective is to prepare our current and future workforce and enterprises with the appropriate skills by continuous learning, to reap the real opportunities and deal with the challenges of the digital transformation in the world of work’. [6] Thus, any strategies designed will need to maintain their flexibility and reviewed on a frequent basis so as to keep them aligned with the real needs of the labour market. Social Partners should prioritise matters related to training, re-skilling and up-skilling to ensure all persons remain active and in employment. They should also aim under each review, to precisely identify the needs so that there is an actual return on the training investments made. A personalised approach should not be excluded from the agenda for people who want to follow specific paths.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, in 2019, 94.9% of businesses employed up to 9 persons, 4.3% employed 10 – 49 persons, 0.7% employed 50 -249 persons and a mere 0.1% employed more than 250 persons.[7] These demographics pose a certain challenge for the role of Social Partners as the largest number of companies are small and family owned and the impact can be abrupt and dispersed and not easily detected and managed. Also, due to company sizes, the cost, both monetary and in practice, of digitalisation is expected to be higher. Hence, the support to SMEs must be specific and targeted.

In addition to the challenges above, the topics of productivity, work life balance and health and safety are all intertwined and Social Partners, when engaging in related discussions and negotiations, will need to look into the entirety of the matters in order to achieve better results. Especially on health and safety, Social Partners will need to revisit the issue of work – related stress under the new situation. It must also be mentioned that modalities of connecting and disconnecting, as set in chapter 2 of the Framework Agreement, are can apply to health and safety of the challenges analysed in this section. This topic is expected to be the most significant challenge for the Social Partners that will have to work within the current legal framework and find the necessary solutions.

A major challenge will also be to assess the impact on men and women and promote solutions and ideas that do not hinder gender equality as protected through the different laws and directives.

Lastly, the Framework Agreement also deals with the issue of artificial intelligence and the human in control principle and the respect of human dignity and surveillance, matters that the Social Partners in Cyprus need further assistance in understanding as they go further than the normal issues that are dealt with as matters of the workplace.

Good practice examples

In Cyprus and thus far, examples of the impact of the digital transformation on work include the media sector and most specifically the shift from printed newspaper/magazines to digital editions. This shift has caused a number of job positions to become redundant with employers and trade unions involved in the discussions with the aim to mitigate the impact on employment. At the same time, the digital opportunities led to the creation of new positions in the sector as a number of online news agencies have been formed and with a good practice example being the creation of Digital Tv, a channel that transmits its content only digitally.[8] The channel has created job positions

Another case where Social Partners were called in to deal with the result of the introduction of new technology, was in the Public Transport company. The company upgraded the fleet of buses in an attempt to provide better services and as a result a lot of drivers needed new training in order to be able to continue to perform their duties. The employer agreed with the trade unions to cover the cost for the training and any drivers that failed to successfully complete it to be trained for other positions in the company. Other concerns raised by the unions and discussed included the concerns expressed by some employees that the company would cancel or merge some routes due to the new buses, making employees redundant. The company agreed to safeguard all job positions despite the introduction of new technology.

Various other positive examples where digitalisation impacted the workplace exist, such as a beauty product company that created online sales, without cancelling physical stores, and thus raised new jobs in IT, marketing and logistics (warehouses and delivery drivers). The same applies for a large number of companies in the catering sector that increased their online sales thus creating more jobs.

Resources

  1. www.oeb.org.cy
  2. www.sek.org.cy
  3. https://www.anad.org.cy/
  4. https://www.mof.gov.cy
  5. https://www.eurofound.europa.eu
  6. Framework Agreement on Digitilisation, European Social Partners, June 2020
  7. Κώδικας Βιομηχανικών Σχέσεων (Industrial Relations Code)
  8. Cedefop (2017). Skills anticipation in Cyprus. Skills Panorama Analytical Highlights.
  9. https://www.philenews.com/oikonomia/kypros/article/1277791/tilergsia-ala-ellinika-proothei-i-zeta
  10. https://www.sek.org.cy/index.php/blog/item/1294-tilergasia-protovoulies-sek-gia-rythmisi-tis-thorakizoume-ta-dikaiomata-oi-tilergazomenoi-na-apolamvanoun-ta-idia-syllogika-dikaiomata-me-tous-ergazomenous-stis-egkatastaseis-tis-epixeirisis-tou-synolou-ton-ergazomenon
  11. https://iclg.com/practice-areas/digital-business-laws-and-regulations/cyprus
  12. https://ioewec.newsletter.ioe-emp.org/industrial-relations-and-labour-law-july-2020/news/article/european-social-partners-framework-agreement-on-digitalisation
  13. https://www.etuc.org/system/files/document/file2020-06/Final%2022%2006%2020_Agreement%20on%20Digitalisation%202020.pdf
  14. https://resourcecentre.etuc.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/Telework%202002_Framework%20Agreement%20-%20EN.pdf
  15. https://www.sek.org.cy/index.php/blog/item/1215-i-sek-xairetizei-tin-ypografi-tis-simantiki-symfonias-plaisio-gia-tin-psifiopoiisi-apo-tous-evropaious-koinonikoys-etairous https://www.brief.com.cy/etairika-nea/tilergasia-en-kairo-pandimias
  16. https://cyprusrussianbusiness.com/index.php/articles-english/5540-kyriakos-kokkinos-digital-transformation-of-cyprus
  17. https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/09/23/cyprus-in-trouble-with-eu-for-delayed-digital-legislation/
  18. https://www.dmrid.gov.cy/dmrid/research.nsf/All/93BD79089C22336BC225853400356CCB/$file/Innovate-Cyprus-CYRI-Strategy-Framework-2019-2023-NBRI-May-2019.pdf?OpenElement
  19. https://dihworld.eu/cydihub-bringing-the-fourth-digital-revolution-to-cypriot-enterprises/
  20. https://www.cyprusprofile.com/articles/cyprus-unveils-280m-digital-blueprint

[1] http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dlr/dlr.nsf/historicalbckgsd_en/historicalbckgsd_en?opendocument
[2] Cedefop (2017). Skills anticipation in Cyprus. Skills Panorama Analytical Highlights. https://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en/analytical_highlights/skills-anticipation-cyprus
[3] Framework Agreement on Digitilisation, European Social Partners, June 2020, page 3
[4] https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/capacity-building
[5] https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=lfsa_ehomp
[6] Framework Agreement on Digitilisation, European Social Partners, June 2020, page 8
[7]https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/E840E495B5E74D02C225863B0037986C/$file/Business_Register-2019-EN-161220.pdf?OpenElement
[8] https://digitaltv.com.cy/