The control of work permits by employers may lead to serious abuse, the two leading unions have warned.

Their concern comes in the wake of a serious case of exploitation claimed by a Chinese worker and reported in The Sunday Times of Malta (see story below).

Employment licences for non-EU nationals are issued by the Employment and Training Corporation but are controlled by the employer. ETC guidelines issued last May state that these people cannot use a work permit to take up a “different job, or to work for a different employer, even on a part-time basis”.

Their destiny is wholly at their employers’ whims

However, the employer may cancel the work permit and the only obligation would be to inform the ETC, stating the reason for cancellation and the effective date, and returning the permit.

Since the story on the Chinese man appeared, other workers have come forward to claim their employment conditions are below the minimum stipulated at law.

However, they say they are afraid to speak out for fear that the employer will terminate their employment.

They would then risk deportation, since their residence permit is tied to their employment.

Josef Bugeja, the secretary general of the General Workers’ Union, confirmed that this sort of thing takes place. He said foreign workers had approached the union alleging their employers were using their work permits to blackmail them and to refuse their claims for decent conditions.

Their destiny, Mr Bugeja said, was “wholly at their employers’ whims”. The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin has “often encountered such cases”, confirmed its secretary general Josef Vella.

Employment law expert Ian Spiteri Bailey said Malta had a rather robust legal framework to protect these workers. Amendments to employment law in 2002 were aimed at protecting employees from victimisation when submitting complaints to the authorities about alleged illegalities or when starting legal proceedings.

The law also gives such employees ‘whistle blower’ protection if they disclose confidential information to public authorities about alleged illegal or corrupt activities by the employer.

So in theory, said Dr Spiteri Bailey, it was illegal to fire foreign workers who reported alleged breaches of employment law. In such cases they may sue the employer for unfair dismissal.

However, the situation is not as straightforward as it seems. These workers would find it difficult to seek redress through the administrative set-up and they do not have the network or contacts to make effective use of these remedies.

Workers benefit from awareness of their rights and assistance with infringements

“Although there is always scope for improvement in the legal instruments, probably such workers would benefit more from the development of an administrative set-up that makes them aware of their rights and assists them when there are infringements,” Dr Spiteri Bailey said. He proposed the establishment of a unit for vulnerable workers, possibly within the Department for Employment and Industrial Relations.

The GWU called for a “radical overhaul” of the work permits regime to prevent exploitation. One of its suggestions is that the work permit be retained by the ETC or another public entity rather than by the employer, in order to avoid blackmail. The UĦM proposed giving workers information online, helping them ensure their employment contract respects their rights.