Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1146457
17 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JULY 2019 INTERVIEW or on weekends, or on public holidays. But can all shops af- ford to close on Saturdays? No. They have to fend for themselves: they have to find those employees, one way or another. There is still the danger of exploitation, though... Yes, that is why we need a mechanism – and we are lay- ing the groundwork for it as we speak – to ward off exploita- tion. You mentioned the con- struction sector: what we are aiming for is for all sectors to have a set of protocols – a list of "do's and don'ts" for workers and employers. That is where we need to go, as a country. We have already introduced a lot of new legislation to this end. It is now illegal, for exam- ple, for an employee not to be given a payslip… I've heard of cases where employees were not even given their pay, let alone the payslip… That is also why it is impor- tant also for employees to be aware of their rights. In the coming months, we are hoping to start the mechanism where- by every worker who is given a work permit, also gets a small card telling them what their rights are. For instance: 'no, employers don't have the right to take away your passport. If you see any of these indica- tions, call this number. It's a freephone helpline, confiden- tiality guaranteed, etc.' It is a very basic guide to employee's rights; but it is needed, because in some cases, foreigners will not be aware that they have certain rights here. The reality in their home countries might be very different. There are parts of the world where such people have no rights at all. They would be so accustomed to being treated like dirt, that when they come here, they don't expect anything differ- ent. They might even think it's 'normal' to be treated that way. What they don't know, how- ever, is that just because they come from places where that is the reality… it doesn't mean that that is the reality here, too. The reality here is that all people have basic fundamental human rights; and all workers have employees' rights… Could it also be that, in some cases, the employers themselves might genuinely not know that they're even breaking the law… by, for instance, not providing adequate health and safety standards on the workplace, or by not giving payslips, etc.? I'd say it goes even further than that. Let me give you an example from my own experi- ence. Last year, after I spoke in a discussion about prostitu- tion on the programme 'Xtra', a pimp turned up at my of- fice. Very bluntly, he started telling me things like: 'Yes, I bring girls here… but I always treat them well. I treat them like they're my own daugh- ters. They live like queens…." After around 40 minutes of him going on about how 'well he treats his girls', I asked: "But do you not charge them anything? Not even for lodg- ing? When a single room in an apartment can be rented out for 700 euros?" He said, "Oh yes, I do charge them a little for rent, and for petrol, and for expenses… but I always drive them everywhere. Even to go shopping… even just to cross the street. I'm always by their side..." So without even realis- ing it, this man was giving me all the indicators that those girls were living in captivity; yet at the same time, to this in- dividual himself… he thought he was 'treating them well'. So yes, this is why awareness is needed, too. What is currently being done to raise such awareness, though? To give one example: last year, I brought over an expert from Scotland Yard to provide training for the employees of Identity Malta. He gave a training course on how to rec- ognise the warning signs, how to deal with specific types of situations, etc… and almost the moment the course was over, they identified 14 vic- tims, who were rescued from similar captivity scenarios... What would the signs be, from the perspective of Identity Malta employees? Let's say someone turns up to apply for a work permit. There'll be someone stand- ing by who doesn't even let the applicant speak: like 'Big Brother', monitoring every- thing. He will do all the talking for the applicant, or tell them exactly what to say. There are also health issues – which is why we want to move towards is a situation where people re- ceive similar training, even in health centres. One of those 14 victims was severely mal- nourished. She hadn't eaten in days. These are the sort of signs that they will be looking out for. Some of these signs may be visible to more than just doctors and civil service. Anyone at all might be able to spot a severely malnourished young woman, being 'escorted' around by a Big Brother-type thug. What should people do, if they suspect cases of human trafficking? That is one of the things the educational campaign will be addressing. How can the man in the street be aware, for in- stance, that the apartment next door might be used for trafficking purposes? There are signs to look out for: are there certain activities go- ing on at strange hours? Are people always accompanied, when they enter or leave… or when they go shopping, or to the bank? Are they afraid to speak when spoken to? The campaign aims to raise awareness of these issues. It will take place in schools, too. We have already embarked on an interesting project: author Trevor Zahra is helping us out with it. The idea is that, 'not every fairy tale has a happy… conclusion' – not to say 'end- ing', because of the connota- tions. But we have to get the message across. Another di- rection we need to take is that, if there are certain areas that are susceptible to human traf- ficking – abroad, for instance, you often see campaigns in airports: posters asking, 'Are you being trafficked?', with a helpline number to call. We have to do something similar here as well. But as a legisla- tor, I want to do more. That is why I started the public con- sultation process. I want to go before parliament with a draft law that says, for example, that victims of human trafficking will be offered a witness pro- tection programme. This is an area where, in the past, nobody wanted to venture. It runs into millions of euros: in other coun- tries, around 150 million euro a year. But if someone is going to expose an international human trafficking ring… they have to be given a new identity. And they can't be accommodated in a flat in Gozo, Sliema, etc… be- cause they'd still run the risk of coming into contact with their aggressors. We would need agreements with other coun- tries, so that the person under protection will be relocated overseas: under a new name, with new documents, and with money to cover housing, and so on. It is not easy: least of all, for the witnesses themselves. They would have to avoid use of so- cial media; there will not be able to talk to their own families… in fact, there are several cases where witnesses withdrew from the protection programme, be- cause they couldn't handle it. So it won't be easy to introduce. But we do need to, at least, start talking about these issues. This, too, is part of the awareness we aim to raise.