Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537233
A recent report by this newspaper entitled, Lives Shattered On The Altar Of Greed: A Glimpse Into Malta's Slave Labour, paint- ed a grim, very bleak picture of what some third country nationals (TCNs) are experi- encing in today's Malta. And yet when it was shared to Facebook, one look at the title was enough for some people to make snap judgements purely on the heading; the phrase 'slave labour' seemed to particularly trigger a sneer- ing, knee-jerk response. There were some who even responded with laughing emo- jis (although when this shameful reaction was called out, I noticed the emojis disap- peared). To laugh at someone's predica- ment is simply callous and cruel. When these types of stories about TCNs are shared, it is always patently obvious when certain people have not read it. The article is posted and bam, there's an imme- diate response. Come on, there are sim- ply not that many in this world who have acquired the specialised skill required to speed read. But who cares about actually reading the whole article, right? Not when attention spans have dwindled so badly that TikTok sound bites are considered a news source. Apart from making bold statements on something which they have not read, what struck me the most when I was read- ing through the comments, is the lack of awareness and knowledge about how/why so many TCNs are on the island in the first place. It is mind-boggling. So I thought I would just try to sift through some of the most common misconceptions: Fallacy: "No one asked them to come here!" Correction, yes, they did. Do people actu- ally think thousands of Indian, Philippine and other nationalities just woke up one day and thought hmm Malta, never heard of it before, I have no idea how to get there or if I will find work, but let me just hop on a plane and give it a try? The truth is that if one searches back over the last decade or so, one will find a num- ber of statements by Labour politicians and heads of government entities, where it was declared in black and white: 'Malta's econ- omy needs a foreign workforce to grow and thrive.' It was a deliberate economic policy and the way was paved for employment agen- cies to sprout up, whose sole purpose is to advertise Malta as a country where there are plenty of jobs available. It is very naive to think that JobsPlus, Identity Malta and the Housing Authority were not all involved in this from the beginning, with orders from 'Upstairs' that an influx of TCNs were on the way to fill in the gaps in our workforce. New construction went into overdrive. Unscrupulous landlords rubbed their hands with glee, as they calculated how many of these desperate people they could cram in- to a dwelling meant for a normal-sized fam- ily. We have all seen the appalling photos of apartments where living rooms have been turned into dormitories with bunkbeds, for hapless non-EU workers who are willing to pay not for a room, but for a BED. Meanwhile ,it became a Catch 22 situ- ation—as the economy grew, the private sector kept requiring more staff. Just think about it logically, if no vacancies were avail- able, and employment opportunities were scarce, why would anyone come here? Myth:"They are taking our jobs! Maltese youngsters cannot find work!" Again, I'm puzzled as to how anyone can think this to be true. First of all, Malta has the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. There is barely anyone registering for work and, frankly, any young person who is not holding down a job, but is at home play- ing on their PlaySta- tion while being fi- nanced by the bank of Mum and Dad, is simply bone lazy and does not want to work. There, I said it, shoot me. Expectations also have to be realistic; your entry into the working world has to be in line with your skills, job experience and q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . Today, a first de- gree is equivalent to an A level in my day. In other words, everybody has one. Presuming that you are going to be handed a middle man- agement role at the age of 21 just because you are a B.A. graduate (who has never worked) is far-fetched. Without any qual- ifications, your prospects are even slimmer. The fact remains that in the real world, you have to work your way up the employment ladder by proving yourself first. Secondly, the statistics show that the number of people who have been absorbed into the civil service has had a direct impact on the pool of Maltese nationals available (or willing) to work in the private sector. It's a well-known secret that a "job mal-gvern" is the ticket to a cushy set-up. You get paid the same salary as your colleagues no mat- ter how much or how little you do, there are no consequences for poor performance, and above all, they cannot fire you. What's not to like? Even though it is an abuse of power which we all accept and take for granted (because, you know, "this is Malta") this doling out of jobs as a form of tit-for-tat political expedi- ency, has resulted in a depletion of the local workforce. Suffice to say that the number of employees with the public service has in- creased by 12% since 2018. 18% of people in full-time employment in the country work with the public sector. So the next time you wonder where all the Maltese workers are, maybe you should take a good look around the next time you visit a government department. Myth: "Many are bringing their wives and having babies here so they get citizenship" No, you do not get citizenship simply by being born in Malta of foreign parents. You can only be granted citizenship by birth if one of the parents has already obtained cit- izenship. Fallacy: "They knew exactly what they signed up for" Oh really? Why would anyone sign up for a situation where they are promised heaven on earth only to realise that they are be- ing exploited and are at the mercy of a system where your work permit is linked to the employer? They pay thousands to an agency to come here for a better life and if you have ev- er had the decency to speak to these human beings, who are flesh and blood like you and me, you will realise the stark poverty they have left behind. Once in Malta, they often realise too late that they are being overworked and underpaid. If they are fired, they have a mere 10 days to find a job, oth- erwise they are deported. They can appeal, but the process is lengthy and the worker has to find a way to survive in the mean- time. The authorities, which are meant to protect them, turn a blind eye to this unjust, inhumane situation because you know, the economy. There are more TCNs ready to take their place. Fallacy: "They must have entered illegally to find themselves in this position" While there are probably people working here illegally, this does not justify abuse. It points to the relevant authorities not doing their job and to employers who are know- ingly breaking the law for profit. I could go on, but all of it is just more of the same. Inaccurate beliefs and assump- tions which put the blame fully on TCN workers, but often fail to point the finger at the real culprit which created this present situation—the current administration. Kernels of truth Having said all this, in the constant debate about this topic (which can be filed under different versions, i.e. 'too many foreigners', 'over-population' and 'they are going to take over'), there are, of course, certain ar- guments which contain the kernels of truth. 1. There are some TCNs being em- ployed who are not being properly trained for the job, do not speak ade- quate English and should never have come here. The onus, again, is on the employer. I really fail to see how this helps their business in any way. More worryingly, if the worker is driving a bus or a cab, operating machinery or working in construction, and has not been trained, they are a further, un- necessary danger to society. 2. There are too many loopholes and in- consistencies which encourage TCNs to believe they can bring the rest of their family here under the family re- unification visa. A clear policy has to be put in place, spelling it out simply to everyone without a lot of legalese, because the shifting of goalposts is misleading and is creating real hard- ship. All entities must be on the same page on this. Most of all, the govern- ment has to be honest with us and de- cide what it really wants—short-term foreign workers who come here on their own and leave, or do they wish to open the gates to their families as well? 3. More people coming to work here has put a further strain on our healthcare system. This is undoubtedly true, but they are working and paying N.I. so they are covered by law. We cannot have it both ways. 4. Malta's economy will suffer without a foreign workforce. Yes, it will. So will our comfortable lifestyle. If tomor- row we had to wake up to find that TCN workers had all left, we would find no cabs and no Bolt food couri- ers. Numerous Convenience shops, supermarkets and shopping malls would have closed their shutters. There would be a dearth of bus driv- ers, while many hotels, restaurants and bars would not be able to oper- ate. More significantly, Mater Dei and Karin Grech would not be able to function, nor will the care homes and child care centres. As for live-in carers who take care of our elder- ly with such dedication, they will be gone too. Population decline The truth is that the Maltese population has steadily declined over the last two gen- erations and put simply, there are less lo- cals of a working age who are available for all these jobs. So, while I agree that both political parties need to provide us with an- swers on how they are going to bring about a much-needed balance (rather than just spout meaningless rhetoric), I would also suggest to those always complaining about "too many foreigners"… be careful what you wish for. 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 JULY 2025 OPINION Josanne Cassar The myths, the fallacies and the kernels of truth about the TCN workforce She has worked in the field of communications and journalism for the last 30 years