Malta’s temping agencies are objecting to several measures in a new labour migration policy, arguing that its aim to cut down on the arrival of low-skilled third country nationals “appears contradictory to current economic demands”.

In a detailed, blow-by-blow reaction to the policy published earlier this month, the Association for Temping and Outsourcing Agencies (AFTA) said the policy should focus on “eliminating rogue employers who exploit the system rather than imposing measures that may hinder businesses meeting legitimate economic needs”.

In particular, AFTA said, it “strongly opposes” a measure that would cap the number of non-EU workers in a firm, with companies blocked from engaging more TCNs if they exceed a certain percentage of their total workforce.

The proposed measures say that large firms will not be allowed engage more non-EU workers if more than a quarter of its workforce is made up of TCNs, while the capping for medium-sized firms will be at 50% and those for small and micro firms at 100% and 200% respectively.

In practice, this means that a large company employing 250 people cannot bring in any more non-EU workers if it already has 62 TCNs, a quarter of its workforce, on its books. Meanwhile, a medium-sized firm employing over 50 people will need to make sure that at least half of its employees are either Maltese or EU nationals.

This measure, AFTA argued, will “stifle growth, curb competitiveness, and disproportionately affect industries reliant on TCNs”.

AFTA also had harsh words for several other proposed measures.

The intention to help Maltese firms directly access the TCN application process, cutting down on their reliance on third-party services, “fails to acknowledge the fundamental reason why companies rely on these services,” namely the seasonality and flexibility required by businesses, AFTA said.

Instead of cutting down on third-party service providers, the government should simply make sure that anyone seeking to employ TCNs does so through a licenced agency, the association argued.

The association also called for the government to scrap a measure that would require employers to engage a minimum number of Maltese or EU nationals before turning to TCNs, saying it “fails to account for market realities and the evolving dynamics of the Maltese workforce”.

AFTA supports longer grace period and more training

But AFTA looked more kindly upon several other measures proposed in the policy.

A measure to block employers with high turnover rates from engaging more TCNs is good, AFTA said, “provided it is framed within the context of targeting rogue players”, suggesting some more lenient limits on the thresholds against which the ban would come into force.

It also supports the government’s move to increase the grace period for TCNs who lose their job from the current 10 days to a maximum of 60 days.

And the prospect of integration courses for TCNs before they arrive in Malta is “a positive step”, as are attempts to train and upskill foreign workers.

But a proposed €600 application fee when engaging a foreign worker should be set lower for industries experiencing a shortage of workers and high demand, AFTA said.

And the suggestion that all salaries must be paid by bank transfer could be difficult to implement because many TCNs may find it difficult to open a bank account, it added.