Indicator history

In Cyprus there is no legislative regulation fixing a minimum wage covering the whole of the labour market. There is only an order covering 9 sectors (shop assistants, nurses' assistants, clerks, hairdressers, nursery assistants, kindergarten assistants, security guards, carers and cleaners) [http://paratiritirioergasias.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_13.html]. Migrant workers are employed in some of these professions although there are no national reports on differential wages between migrants and Cypriots. Some information is provided annually by the  U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices in Cyprus. The most recent US report was published in 2011 and concerns the year 2010 [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eur/154419.htm], thus the information contained below, derived from the said report, is not be valid for 2011.  

1. The minimum wage for shop assistants, nurses' assistants, clerks, hairdressers, and nursery assistants was 835 euros  per month for the first six months and 887 euros ($1,190) per month thereafter. This amount did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. For asylum seekers working in the agricultural sector, the minimum monthly wage was either 425 euros with accommodation and food provided or 767 euros ($1,030) without accommodation and food. Neither amount provided a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
2. The minimum starting salary for foreign nationals working as housekeepers was 290 euros per month, plus a minimum of 120 euros for lodging if the worker was not a live-in and an additional 16 percent for social insurance, which employers were required to pay directly to the government. Medical insurance, visa fees, travel, and repatriation expenses are covered by the employers. Cabaret performers' contracts typically stipulated that they receive at least 205 euros per week for 36 hours of work. These wages did not provide a decent standard of living.
3. Workers in almost all other occupations, including unskilled labor, were covered under collective bargaining agreements. The wages set in these agreements were significantly higher than the minimum wage. However, foreign workers were excluded from collective agreements in some industries.
4. Foreign workers were allowed to claim pensions, and in some cases there were bilateral agreements that allowed workers to claim credit in their home countries. Unions and labor confederations were generally effective in enforcing negotiated wage rates (collectively bargained rates), which were generally much higher than the minimum wage. The Migration Service was responsible for enforcing the minimum wage for foreign workers but did not actively do so.
5. Trade unions reported problems in the enforcement of the maximum hours of work per week (38 hours per week for blue collar employees; 39 for white collar employees; 48 including overtime) in sectors not covered by collective agreements. They also reported that certain employers, mainly in the building industry, exploited undocumented foreign workers by paying them wages that were much lower than those provided for in the collective agreements.
6. In May 2009 eight seamen from Burma claimed through the media that they worked for a Paphos shipping company 11 to 16 hours per day for eight consecutive months without a single day off. The seamen earned between 120 and 137 Euros per month, which was significantly less than the terms agreed to in the contract they signed prior to leaving their home country. After leaving their employment, the merchant shipping department accused the men of being "escapees" and the immigration police arrested them, although they were later released. On 10.06.2009, following mediation by the merchant shipping department, the employer was obliged to pay their salaries in full as well as their repatriation expenses. The seamen had filed a case with the Supreme Court, which they withdrew following the resolution of the dispute.