A report titled ‘Ejja, Ejja’, issued by the Church’s Justice and Peace Commission, has recently highlighted the plight of thousands of workers in Malta’s construction sector. Commission president Daniel Darmanin said the present construction is reminiscent of the metaphor of the Tower of Babel, where workers were punished for the loss of bricks, but the death of a person was considered “normal and of little consequence”.
Alarming statistics indicate there were 25 deaths between 2019 and 2022, with many magisterial inquiries about these deaths have yet to be concluded, years later.
Workers interviewed for the study talk of pressures on workers to work faster, with a “get on with it” attitude which is also evident when it comes to health and safety. The author of the study, Mark Cachia, said the fast-paced rhythm of the construction industry had a negative effect on workers because their safety is no longer a priority.
The lack of respect for health and safety regulations translates into a competitive advantage because those who don’t respect the rules can generate a bigger profit.
This is not the first such study about the situation of workers in construction. In 2023, YMCA Malta published ‘HomeInclusRation’, which shed light on the exploitation of migrant workers across various sectors, especially construction.
The experiences of workers documented in that study paint a similar picture to those in ‘Ejja, Ejja’, pointing at how the slave economy is not a buzzword, but a reality.
The MDA would interestingly refer to the study as “flawed,” preferring to shift the discussion onto the lack of workers in the industry while blaming contractors for the pressure they put on workers. The MDA also blamed workers for refusing to be regulated.
There are many other factors contributing to this state of affairs. Besides the race for profits, there are numerous government policies which make exploitation possible, such as the 10-day policy whereby a third-country national who loses their job is expected to find a new one within 10 days, or be sent home.
Many of these workers are brought to Malta by temping agencies, who do not always disclose the proper information to many of those travelling across the world to come and work here. In some cases, they arrive to find they are no longer needed, or offered different terms to what was promised. A huge chunk of their salary is taken by the agency in commission, in addition to exorbitant fees for travel and paperwork.
Bureaucracy is a problem for employers who would like to register their employees legally, and many end up deciding not to go through the whole process, preferring to pay workers in cash. Many workers have no choice but to accept shockingly low salaries, or risk being sent home after 10 days.
The situation of migrant workers goes beyond the lax health and safety regulations and has roots in the cut-throat economic system which allows the exploitation of migrant work, aided by a wave of deregulation which sees the government unwilling and unable to enforce the industry.
It is a tragic irony that the rising right-wing sentiment – fuelled by narratives attacking the exploited themselves – ignores the real culprits. Mixing hatred for asylum seekers and that for workers, the fact that these people are practically imported by the business sector is often overlooked.
Under Joseph Muscat, it had been decided that the economic drive – necessitating thousands of foreign workers – was not to be accompanied by integration policies, and the recognition of migrants’ human rights.
By policy or lack thereof, this situation – which benefits a few individuals – is fully sponsored by the state.