A Department of Labour was established for the first time in Cyprus in 1941, when the Colonial Government pursued a more progressive labour policy.

The then Department of Labour was the predecessor of today΄s Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance. During the four-year period of 1941-44 it promoted the first series of important laws for the protection of workers and trade unions. The main laws enacted during that period dealt with trade union organization and labour disputes, minimum wages, hours of work in shops, child labour, conditions of work in hotels, and workers΄ compensation.

The first District Labour Offices, or «Labour Εxchanges», were established in 1945.