Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1333591
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 JANUARY 2021 NEWS Job Vacancy e Institute for Education would like to inform the general public that a vacancy for the following job position has arisen within the Institute. Human Resources Manager (Jobsplus permit number 32/2021) Interested applicants are requested to apply online by following the link https://bit. ly/2XW5Gzw by Friday 29th January 2021. For more information on the above- mentioned job position kindly visit the Institute's website www.ife.gov.mt Circular IfE 04/2021 Institute for Education Martin Luther King Road Pembroke PBK 1990 NICOLE MEILAK FOUR Syrians and a Libyan have been detained following accusa- tions of threatening Mohammed Alsatif Ibrahim and kidnapping him against his will. The men, who have all been living in Malta for years, are ac- cused of committing the crime between 3:30pm and 7pm on 13 January, with no intention of killing or endangering Alsa- tif's life, only causing him a mi- nor offence. The five individuals were arrested yesterday following raids carried out by the po- lice's counter-terrorism unit in Ħal Safi and Żurrieq. Police revealed that the issue between the aggressors and the victim stemmed from the situation in Syria. Alhasan Abdulrahman, aged 36 from Syria, was individually charged with abducting the vic- tim with the intent of injuring him. He was further charged with carrying a knife or sharp object without a licence. Another three men are ac- cused of complicity in abduct- ing Alsatif with the intention of harming him. The men ac- cused are Ghyas Dahrouj (aged 47, Syrian), Safi Dahrouj (aged 30, Syrian) and Fadel Abdul- salam (aged 39, Libyan). Hassan Ahmed, aged 27 and currently residing in Żurrieq, was further accused together with Alhasan Abdulraham for instigating fear towards Alsatif and Bakir Masoud throughout the months leading up to 13 January. Ghyas Dahrouj, Safi Dahrouj and Fadel Abdulsalam were similarly charged for intimidat- ing Alsatif with the intention of violence against them or their property. Lawyers Lennox Vella and Amanda Spiteri Grech repre- sented Fadel Abdulsalam in the hearing, while the other four were represented by Lawyer Kris Busietta. The defence, through Dr Bus- ietta, filed a request for the pro- visional release of the accused on the basis that they had been living in Malta for a long time and all have families to go to. They said that all is need- ed is for the victims to testify in court, and that this reason alone does not mean that the accused should be held under arrest. Dr Lennox Vella told the court that his client has been married to a Maltese woman for the last 10 years. He men- tioned that there are currently major COVID clusters in pris- on, and putting the accused in prison would force them into quarantine and render them unable to attend court. The Prosecution, led by In- spectors Omar Zammit and Geoffrey Cutajar, strongly ob- jected to this request because of the nature of the accusation and the fear that the evidence would be contaminated. The court, presided over by Magistrate Neville Camilleri, rejected the request for fear of evidence contamination, but urged the prosecution to pres- ent all the witnesses at the next hearing. Five charged over kidnapping related to Syrian conflict NICOLE MEILAK GOVERNMENT plans to take action against the illegal work practices involving food couriers that are adopted by recruit- ment agencies, Prime Minister Robert Ab- ela said. He confirmed that the matter was dis- cussed at a Cabinet meeting on Monday. While he did not divulge the details of what was said during the meeting, he said that a plan is being drafted on how to ad- dress the situation. Last Sunday MaltaToday revealed that recruitment agencies employed by Bolt and Wolt to supply food couriers are tak- ing a 50% cut of the workers' pay. While a self-employed delivery driver would rake in €5.35 on an average delivery run, a courier employed through a recruit- ment agency would make €2.70 for the same delivery. The remaining €2.70 would be retained by the recruitment agency. Several irregularities were reported across agencies – some couriers report having received their work equipment for free, with the motorbike and apparel included, while others reported paying a deposit or having the cost deducted from their first wage payment. A courier who spoke to MaltaToday claimed to have paid €5,000 to a Maltese re- cruitment company over and above the ex- pences associated with obtaining a visa and work permit, just to secure a job with Bolt. Such recruitment companies are in breach of Malta's employment laws, which stipu- late that an employer or temporary agency cannot demand payment or make deduc- tions from the wages paid to an employee. Union heads spoke to MaltaToday on the issue, expressing concern over the commission paid out by the employee and a lack of contractual agreements among self-employed food couriers. "Agencies should receive a commission from the employer ordering the service, not from the end-user, being the worker," Josef Vella from UHM told MaltaToday. He said that an online system, such as those of food delivery apps, isn't an excuse for the employer to exonerate themselves from a contractual relationship with their employees. "The wage of a worker should never be touched," he said. GWU general-secretary Josef Bugeja ex- pressed a similar concern. "The fact that they are working like this, without condi- tions, is modern-day slavery. It needs to be addressed immediately," he said. "It's a double tragedy because whoever tries to offer basic conditions according to the law won't be able to compete in the market and in turn close down. You have to see the ripple effect on the employee but also in the entire sector." He said that he brought up the issue with the employment relations board and the respective minister, and is further calling for better legislation which provides that every worker needs a contract of employ- ment. Bugeja has been highly critical of so- called "application workers" in the past, calling them the new labour slaves. "This is a new world of gig work, where an application serves as a contract of service. The problem is that these workers don't have employment conditions whatsoever. There is no contract binding them, only an application," he had told MaltaToday. READ ALSO EDITORIAL PAGE 11 Government to take action against recruitment agencies taking 50% of food couriers' wages Malta's employment laws stipulate that an employer or temporary agency cannot demand payment or make deductions from the wages paid to an employee