Updated 6.10pm
Sections of the newly unveiled labour migration policy are "unfair and unrealistic" because they fail to account for the high turnover in the catering industry, the Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) said on Friday.
The company was reacting after the government launched a major new policy that will regulate foreign workers in Malta.
Among the changes being proposed, the policy will see employers with high termination rates blocked from employing new foreign workers, permit fees to rise and fall according to retention rate, increase the grace period for TCNs who lose their jobs to 60 days and a ban on cash salaries.
While ACE welcomed the sections of the policy that protect the wellbeing of non-EU nationals living in Malta, such as upping the renewal period for a work permit from one to two years, the association expressed reservations about others.
The association said that proposals like the retention rates and higher fees for first-time renewals are "unfair and unrealistic" and do not account for the complex nature of the catering industry which is subject to a higher-than-average turnover rate.
"In this context, the aims of the various measures proposed are unfair and unrealistic," they said.
"Unfair and unrealistic given recent data published by the Centre of Labour Studies at the University of Malta, notes that the concentration of TCN workers is in lower-skilled jobs thus inevitably prone to high turnover."
ACE said that it hopes proposals will not be adopted in a one-size-fits-all approach and that the recommendations will not lead to a "dual reality" between local and foreign operators in the industry, which the ACE "fears will be discriminatory towards local operators".
The association also called for a reconsideration of the skills card format.
"ACE calls for urgent consultations to ensure that the Labour Migration policy creates a fair balance between the interest of TCNs and the interests of local catering establishments," they said.
Root problem is rogue players: temping agencies
The Association for Outsourcing and Temping Agencies similarly expressed concern about some of the proposals where employee turnover is concerned.
In a statement, the association said that certain proposals risk limiting competitiveness through unnecessary hurdles that fail to get at the root cause of the problem: rogue players who exploit TCNs and abuse regulatory systems for profit.
“It is essential to recognise that workforce mobility and turnover are natural byproducts of economic progress and upskilling,” they said.
“Penalising companies, especially those specialising in entry-level roles, for these realities demonstrates a lack of understanding of how the labour market functions. A worker cannot be made to stay in a job if he or she wants to move on.”
AFTA said that it is committed to working constructively with policymakers, but emphasises that growth must not be limited “under the guise of regulation”.
“Stricter enforcement and targeted action against rogue employers, not blanket restrictions, are the only sustainable ways forward,” they said.