The main aims of the inspection campaigns in Cyprus are: compliance of employers with relevant OSH legislation, minimizing of work accidents, dangerous occurrences, and occupational diseases. All inspection activities are described in the two year OSH Inspection Programme, which includes monthly, bimonthly or 3-month long specific inspection campaigns. The number of establishments inspected varies according to the targeting of the specific inspection campaigns.

Different sources of information are used in selecting the priority area for inspection – national sources (Labour Inspectorate's own database of workplace accidents, previous inspections and complaints) as well as European (EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027, SLIC recommendations, e.g. evaluation of Labour Inspection System in Cyprus of 2019, SLIC inspection campaigns). High rates of workplace accidents, including fatal and serious accidents, and guidelines from other state authorities determine selecting the inspection priority area. A particular sector of economy or a specific hazard is usually defined as a priority area.

The inspections are carried out in the framework of the specific campaign as a series of intensified inspections in predetermined short periods of time. Each labour inspector who is dealing with OSH issues at work is expected to carry out 192 inspections per year, that means approximately 16 inspections per month. During the months where there is a predetermined campaign, inspectors are expected to conduct 5 out of the 16 inspections on entities in the framework of the campaign.

The majority of the labour inspectors participate in OSH inspection campaigns. Inspectors carrying out activities in the framework of campaigns are equipped with: checklists, specialist, issue-related materials, examples of reactive actions to be taken by inspectors upon identification of typical cases of incompliance, information about the rules of programme evaluation, promotional and communication materials for employers.

Regarding the organisation, implementation and monitoring of each campaign, a Labour Inspection Officer at the DLI’s headquarters is appointed as the central coordinator. The head and a coordinator at each of the 5 district labour inspection offices are also engaged. For each campaign, the NACE codes of the Economic Activity Sectors falling within the scope of the campaign are selected and relevant workplaces are recorded and sent to the 5 district labour inspection officers for inclusion in the campaign.

Prior to the conduct of each inspection campaign, relevant information is uploaded to the DLI’s website to inform all employers, employed persons and other interested parties. Social partners are also informed, in order to disseminate relevant information to their members throughout Cyprus.

The aim of the project was to disseminate information among stakeholders about the 2023-2025 campaign of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) on digitisation. The primary distribution channel for this information was mass media (traditional and social media). Various forms of communication were used: radio and TV spots and interviews, banners, advertisements, newsletters. A factor to ensure the effective distribution of information, i.e. to reach the majority of the workforce, was the involvement in the campaign of the Pancyprian Safety and Health Council, which includes representatives of the government administration and the most important organisations representing employers and employees. To this end, professional organisations and experts and consultants working in the field of occupational safety and health were also invited to contribute.

When preparing the project, the labour inspectorate’s own database on workplace accidents was used, as well as stakeholders’ proposals and information of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. A campaign coordinator was in charge of preparing the project and two people were involved in activities at this stage, working with the press office of the Ministry of Labour.

The implementation of the project covered distribution of information and visits in workplaces, as well as conferences and seminars on the impact of digitalisation on the labour market, and advice provided on this topic. Information about the campaign was disseminated by all TV and radio stations in Cyprus, both local and national. The campaign was run on the websites of the labour inspectorate and stakeholders, and space on news portals was also purchased commercially to publish campaign materials.