Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure CY-2022-36/2823 – Updated – measures in Cyprus
Country | Cyprus , applies nationwide |
Time period | Temporary, 01 September 2022 – 31 July 2024 |
Context | War in Ukraine, Cost of Living Crisis |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Measures to prevent social hardship
– Access to childcare and education |
Author | Loucas Antoniou (INEK) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 09 September 2022 (updated 29 November 2023) |
The aim of the scheme is to financially support families with preschool children, the provision of equal opportunities of preschool children in education and the reconciliation of work and family life. The scheme is included among the measures taken by the Cabinet on 27 May 2022 to confront inflation and the increasing prices of essential goods, which is a commitment from the National restructuring programme THALEIA 2021-2027 co-funded by the EU and the Republic of Cyprus.
The monthly allowance amounts to 80% of the tuition fees for children up to 4 years old at the beginning of the academic year, with the allowance ranging from €100 to €350 for each child based on the household income and the number of children in the family. For example, a family with 3 children aged from 2 to 4 years of age and a household annual income ranging from €39,000 to €49,000 receives a €100 monthly allowance for every child. Whereas a single parent family or a family with many children up to 2 years of age and with an annual income up to €19,500 receives a €350 monthly allowance for every child. The allowance is provided directly to the childcare providers participating in the scheme and covers the academic year. Childcare providers that increase their tuition fees by €10 per month or 5% in comparison with the prices of the last academic year have no right to participate in the scheme.
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
30 June 2023 |
The Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare announced the continuity of the tuition fee subsidy scheme for the academic year 2023-2024. It also announced the change on the annual income criterion for participation in the scheme as follows:
|
Annually, it is estimated that 16,000 children receive the allowance.
By the 1 September 2022, 238 childcare providers have concluded service agreements with the Deputy Ministry of Welfare, of which 106 in the district of Nicosia, 47 in the district of Limassol, 44 in the district of Larnaca, 18 in the district of Famagusta and 23 in the District of Paphos. The Deputy Minister announced on 5 November 2022, that to this moment more than 6,000 children have been benefited by the scheme. The Ministry announced that 6,522 children have benefited by the scheme in September 2022 and the payment to the child care providers of the period amounted to €902,000.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Does not apply to workers | Does not apply to businesses |
Children (minors)
Parents Single parents People on low incomes |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Trade unions Employers' organisations |
European Funds
National funds |
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Consulted | Consulted |
Form | Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies | Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
A social dialogue has preceded the adoption of the measure initiated by the Minister of Labour and Social Insurances within the domain of Labour Advisory Council, which is chaired by the Minister in office and the participation of social partners’ representatives – employers’ organization and trade unions. Social partners have no involvement in the implementation and monitoring of the measure; the Welfare Benefits Management Service of the Deputy Ministry of Welfare is the responsible agency for these tasks.
Trade unionists and employers’ organizations as well as society at large have positive views of the measure. The adoption of the measure shall be considered as a social and political necessity as tuition fees in private care centers particularly are very high and disproportional with the income of many families.
The social partners participated in the institutional dialogue are the members of the Labour Advisory Council/Board. The Council is chaired by the Minister of Labour and Welfare and includes representatives of the major employers' organizations and trade unions:
This case is sector-specific (only private sector)
Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
---|---|
P - Education | P85 Education |
This case is not occupation-specific.
Citation
Eurofound (2022), Tuition fee subsidy for children up to four years old , measure CY-2022-36/2823 (measures in Cyprus), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/CY-2022-36_2823.html
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