In Gozo, a 'jobs-for-votes' bonanza is more complex than it first appears

Several of Gozo’s business owners say they are facing a severe shortage of local staff as ministers have allegedly been handing out jobs in exchange for votes ahead of the election.

The pre-election scramble for votes in Gozo has intensified during the election campaign, and rumours of a jobs-for-votes bonanza are spreading like wildfire across the island, sometimes fuelled by the voters who brag of getting such favours.

A closer look, however, reveals a much more complex system of political patronage, private contractors and revolving-door vacancies that fuel an illusion and mask the true cost to taxpayers and businesses.

Times of Malta spoke to seven Gozitan entrepreneurs last week, all of whom agreed that the months leading up to an election are always a notoriously difficult time to retain staff.

None of the entrepreneurs were prepared to go on record, saying they feared repercussions on their business.

They said that although the practice has been ongoing for years, even under a Nationalist (PN) government, it has intensified significantly during the past 10 years and during election campaigns, including the current one.

And rumours that the government was dishing out jobs further intensified at the sight of long queues outside the Jobsplus office in Victoria just before the election was called last month.

Two business owners who spoke to Times of Malta reported losing employees to recent government recruitment, and others said they knew of peers facing the exact same issue.

The losses range from low-skilled cleaners and security officers to highly experienced, long-time professionals. One business owner, who managed to escape the recent wave unscathed, summed it up like this: “They didn’t take away any of my employees this time because they already took all of them over the past few years. They had nobody left to come for.”

In a desperate bid to retain their best talent, a few employers admitted to bypassing the rules in the past. They allowed trusted, long-time employees to accept full-time government positions and secure state-paid taxes and social security. The workers would report to their government posts early in the morning, slip away shortly after and spend the rest of the day working for their original employers in exchange for cash.

Sources from both political parties agree that the competition for votes within the district is harsher between Labour (PL) candidates than it is between the PL and the PN at party level.

While Labour is motivated to win Gozo from PN leader Alex Borg, who famously secured nearly as many first-preference votes as Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri in 2022, the fiercest competition is happening within the PL itself, according to sources.

Heavyweights Camilleri (who is Gozo and planning minister), Jo Etienne Abela (health minister) and Anton Refalo (agriculture minister) are competing on the same ballot in the 13th district, and word on the ground is that they are poaching each other’s Labour voters.

While public perception suggests that every government job is an unnecessary, tax-funded favour, the reality is far more nuanced.

Every year, the government genuinely employs many highly skilled individuals who work long hours to keep essential services running. However, the system also accommodates less justifiable roles, such as redundant beach cleaners, gardeners and security guards, which government sources admit are a waste of taxpayer money or could easily be automated.

The popular local ambition is to secure a cushy government post. Government sources admit that some people who seek government jobs immediately make it clear that the ideal arrangement would allow them to either sit around and not do much work with minimal oversight from superiors “who are likely also slacking off”, according to one source, or work shifts that are few and far between, leaving the rest of the week free.

But the sources insisted most of the workers are actually hard-working individuals who run successful side businesses, such as restaurants, construction setups or finishing trades. For them, a government job is not an alternative to work; it is a stable source of extra pocket money and a convenient way to cover social security contributions.

However, these ideal roles are becoming harder for ministers to find. Prestigious entities like Gozo Channel, once highly sought after by people who wanted government jobs, are now actively avoided. Due to the intense and busy nature of modern ferry operations, the jobs are now said to be less appealing, precisely because the operational demands leave little scope for absenteeism or inertia.

Contractor illusion

The hardest part of measuring the exact scale of the alleged pre-election hiring wave is that many of the “government jobs” being boasted about are actually entirely within the private sector.

When private contractors – most of whom handle subcontracted government projects – need staff, they notify the ministers. When voters approach a minister asking for work, the minister simply refers them to the contractor, knowing they are looking for new recruits.

They didn’t take any of my employees this time… they’ve already taken them all

This workaround serves multiple purposes. It leaves everyone temporarily happy – people feel like the minister gave them a job, the minister gets their vote and the contractor fills the vacancy. There is nothing unethical or illegal about this. 

But the system quickly breaks down, according to government sources.

Unlike direct government employment, private contractors expect workers to do their job. Many newly placed workers quickly realise they cannot sit idle, leading them to quit after just a few weeks or months. This high turnover creates a constant stream of fresh vacancies. The contractor asks the minister for more workers, the minister refers new voters, and the cycle repeats itself.

To the public, it looks like the minister is dishing out dozens of new jobs, when, in reality, they are simply filling the exact same roles over and over again. 

One government source shared a striking example of this phenomenon. “I personally know of one contractor who needed just two security officers. This cycle happened so often that, over the span of a few months, he employed 12 different people in those same two vacancies. In the public perception out there, it feels like 12 people got jobs but, in fact, there were only ever two.”

Other problems

For the workers who do choose to stay with private contractors, a different issue sometimes arises. They often work directly alongside permanent government employees on the same projects but under inferior wages and conditions. This disparity has fuelled long-standing protests and complaints about unequal treatment, particularly in the case of contracted workers at Gozo Channel, among other workplaces.

Sources also said that the sudden surge in rumours during this campaign stems from the government issuing numerous calls for various tradespeople earlier this year and conducting widespread interviews ahead of the election.

They also said several workers previously employed by private contractors have recently been transferred directly onto the government payroll ahead of the election. Times of Malta was unable to prove this.

Under employment regulations, the government is strictly prohibited from hiring new staff during an election campaign, bar in exceptional circumstances or to finalise recruitment processes that had already begun before the election was officially announced.

All three ministers sent an identical reply when asked to comment, largely skirting the jobs issue and boasting about economic growth instead.

“The characterisation of employment growth in Gozo as a ‘jobs-for-votes bonanza’ is categorically false and ignores the economic reality that has transformed the island over the past decade,” spokespersons for the three ministers said. 

“Today, Gozo enjoys one of the strongest labour markets in its history. The Gozitan economy has, for the first time, exceeded €1 billion in value, more than three times its size in 2012. This growth has been driven by sustained economic activity, increased private investment and the creation of quality employment opportunities for Gozitans.”

Job creation grew sevenfold since Labour rose to power, and the growth happened primarily in the private sector, they said.

“In one year, more than 600 new private-sector jobs were created in Gozo. Over the last 12 years, about 7,000 jobs have been created on the island, an increase of approximately 70% in employment,” they noted. “These are real opportunities generated by businesses investing in Gozo and providing careers for Gozitans in Gozo.”

They were asked, among other things, how many new recruits joined the government payroll since April and how many people who were employed with private contractors, if any, were transferred to the government payroll since this January. The questions remained unanswered, but the reply did add that, less than a month ago, the PN leader himself encouraged people to seek government jobs.