Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536968
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JUNE 2025 FEATURE MaltaToday meets several non-EU workers, who recount tales of abuse and desperation in a country where their wellbeing is left at the mercy of their employers. Matthew Farrugia reports. THEY came to Malta to make a decent living—at least that is what they were promised. The income would help sup- port their families back home. But what they were not told was that their stay in Malta is at the mercy of their employer. When MaltaToday sat with these workers, the tales we heard were straight out of a Charles Dickens novel and the culprits were employers of all types—from small firms to much bigger, 'respectable' companies. With the work permit specifically tied to an employer, the current system, unfortunately aids and abets those who choose to abuse. An overwhelming majority of workers, who spoke to MaltaToday found them- selves unjustly sacked and eventually appealed their termination in front of the Immigration Appeals Board. This situation leaves them in legal limbo. The appeals process is notoriously long and during this period, TCNs can- not legally work while their case is being considered. This means that unless they can somehow live without an income for months, they end up in the shadow economy. This illegal employment places them at the mercy of employers, who have no problem paying them miserable salaries and forcing them to work for days on end. According to the Home Affairs Minis- try, there are about 5,000 foreign work- ers currently appealing what they claim are unjust terminations. In order to protect the identity of the workers who spoke to MaltaToday, we will not be publishing their real names, nor the names of their employers. But these stories are real; they are about people, whose dreams of a better life have been shattered on the altar of greed. Rajesh: The courier with motorcycle costs deducted from his salary Rajesh* came to Malta in 2022 after paying a recruitment agency €4,500. He started working as a food courier, deliv- ering orders on a motorcycle to hungry Maltese households. Amazingly, Rajesh was told by his employers that the mo- torcycle used by the company did not belong to it as it was rented, and so he had €200 deducted from his weekly wage in order to cover the cost of the vehicle he used while on duty. After some time, Rajesh eventually changed jobs, acquired a Maltese driv- er's licence and driver tag from Trans- port Malta, and started working as a cab driver. Unfortunately for him, Rajesh was one of the hundreds of TCNs whose application was rejected right before Prime Minister Robert Abela claimed that Malta no longer needs TCNs to work as cab drivers in July 2024. Despite that statement from the prime minister, Malta had 307 new foreign cab drivers five months later. Rajesh eventually appealed the refusal and unlike others who spoke to Malta- Today for this article, found "a good Sa- maritan" who gave him a job and pays him a fair salary. It is one of the brighter stories. Amar: The waiter 'required' to pay NI by his recruitment agency Amar* paid €6,000 to come to Mal- ta in 2023 and his recruitment agency found him a job at a restaurant where he worked as a waiter. He tells MaltaToday that everything was fine until one day, about six months after working in Malta, the recruitment agency started demanding a number of payments which they claimed were his overdue National Insurance (NI) tax. Amar panicked. He did not know that NI is paid by his employer. After much consideration, he told his boss, who showed him that he was in fact paying his NI. Luckily, his boss's intentions were genuine, assuring Amar that he had nothing to worry about, and warned his recruitment agency not to continue harassing the employee. Unfortunately, Amar later developed psoriasis, a skin condition characterised by a rash and itchy patches all over the body. He had to be hospitalised for a while and after being discharged, Am- ar turned to a local recruitment agency and was given a new job at a hotel. But after his skin condition start- ed acting up again, he was sacked and has since been waiting for the appeals process to conclude. Meanwhile, Amar lives in the shadows, unable to work le- gitimately while trying to get by. Isha: The cleaner hounded to pay 'overdue taxes' After paying a recruitment agency €7,000 to come to work in Malta, Isha* was surprised to learn that there was in fact no job waiting for her when she got off the plane. For six months her re- CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE >> Lives shattered on the altar of greed: A glimpse into Malta's slave labour