Hotel support plan pairs 30 per cent wage subsidy with layoff freeze

Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas is due to present the government’s support plan for the hotel industry on Friday morning, as authorities move to cushion the sector from the economic fallout of the Middle East crisis.

According to information available, Mousiouttas invited both hotel associations and trade unions to his office for a morning meeting to outline the scheme and the criteria that will apply.

Under the plan, the state subsidy for employees’ salaries in April will remain at 30 per cent, while employers benefiting from the measure will be barred from making redundancies until the end of May.

At the same time, the scheme is expected to prioritise the return of employees whose work was suspended in October, in line with union demands, rather than favouring new recruitment.

The measure forms part of the wider package of economic support announced last Thursday by President Nikos Christodoulides, which included targeted assistance for the hotel sector.

More specifically, the government said it would cover 30 per cent of wage costs for staff employed by hotel units and tourist accommodation operating throughout the period from April 1 to April 30.

Hotel associations had sought a 50 per cent subsidy, but the government declined to alter the framework of the scheme.

Speaking on Thursday after a meeting with members of the executive committee of the employers’ federation (Oev), Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said it was premature to discuss additional measures before the recently announced package had been put into practice.

He said the priority now was to see how the existing measures worked, alongside developments on the ground.

Keravnos added that, beyond the wage subsidy aimed at helping hotels remain open in April, the government had also discussed a separate plan intended to support hotel units in attracting domestic tourism during the Easter period.