I would like to start this week’s contribution to highlight a situation that is prevalent both in Malta and abroad. I am going to present two scenarios that many of us know represent the truth.

The first scenario is an international company that sacks hundreds of its workers who have employment contracts based on models found in Malta’s part of the world and replaces them with low-paid agency staff from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, and so forth. The reason provided by the company was a cynical comment about globalisation. The real reason is a relentless hunt for profits.

The second scenario is a Maltese company which, like the foreign one, relies on low-paid agency workers from Asia or Latin America, instead of employing Maltese or EU workers at a higher hourly rate. The cynical reason given in this case is the shortage of labour in our country. The real reason is, once more, a relentless hunt for profits.

I described the comment about globalisation as cynical because globalisation was meant to facilitate a better distribution of wealth among countries. It was meant to facilitate international trade to help poorer countries export to richer ones. Unfortunately, the term was hijacked by some global corporations to transfer their operations to low-cost countries, without contributing anything to improve the well-being of the citizens of those countries. Instead, we have had instances of children being exploited by being forced to work 12-hour days for a miserly wage.

The hunt for profits destroys democracy, and eventually, the economy as well

I described the comment about the shortage of labour in our country as cynical because it is known that several Malta-based companies are continually seeking every loophole possible in the law to bring over third country nationals with the promise of a well-paid job, which in effect would not really exist. This week’s story that Brazilian women were brought to Malta to work as maids and ended up in prostitution is the latest case in point.

Unfortunately, what has happened is that several businesses all over the world, including Malta, have managed to neuter institutions that were set up to combat poverty, to help poorer countries, to achieve a better distribution of income, to enforce regulation, to have a more democratic society.

In fact, what triggered this week’s contribution was, in fact, a comment attributed to a world-renowned economic adviser to both the US and UK governments. This comment was: “A democratic society destroys a free economy”. This would imply that a democratic society would put a check on the hunt for profits and promote a more just distribution of income.

It is right that political leaders strive for multilateral economic cooperation, with the objective of helping the development of poorer economies. Globalisation was not a wrong concept. It was abused by some large global corporations to maximise their profits.

We cannot turn the clock back. However, we can seek to have more effective regulation that does not inhibit businesses but supports good practices. In my view, democracy does not destroy a free economy but puts the human person at the centre of the economy. The hunt for profits destroys democracy, and eventually, the economy as well.