Watch: Crackdown on abuse as Labour Migration Policy takes effect in August

The government will begin implementing its labour migration policy from August. 

The policy, first announced in January, consists of 20 measures, 12 of which will be implemented from August, three from October and five on a continuous basis.  

Among the measures is the requirement that the salaries of third-country nationals be paid into a bank account or by other electronic means.  

Employers who fire third-country nationals without justification will not be allowed to employ TCNs from outside the country for the same position.  

Businesses will also be required to post vacancies on Jobsplus and EURES to prove that they searched for a Maltese or EU worker before resorting to a non-EU national.  

The fee for hiring a TCN from outside the country will rise from €300 to €600, but the fee to renew an existing employee’s permit will be slashed by half to €150. 

The number of TCNs that a business can hire will be capped depending on its size.  

Exemptions will apply to the healthcare sector and industries involved in the care of the elderly and disabled. In these cases, the fee for hiring a new third-country national will be reduced to €150.

Other measures relate to termination rates and the prompt submission of engagement and termination forms. 

The measures come as latest data show that almost 30 per cent of Malta's population are non-nationals while 76.6 per cent of migrants last year were non-EU nationals. Malta's population now stands at 574,250, an increase of 1.9 per cent.

Announcing the launch of the policy at a press conference on Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said the public consultation that preceded the drafting of the policy resulted in 300 submissions from economists, civil society groups and stakeholders across various industries.  

“The economic growth that the country has seen over the past few years should serve society. People expect that certain services and comforts will remain, but also want authorities to have more control,” he said, adding that the economic realities of today were different from a decade ago. 

Camilleri said the policy was based on four principles: stability, workers’ rights, controlling migration and investing in skills.  

“The measure will be implemented in a gradual way to avoid shocking the system and to give employers and employees time to adjust and inform themselves,” the minister said.  

He added that the main purposes of the policy were to prevent abuse and to encourage the retention of existing employees. 

“Some people believe that when an employer mistreats a foreign employee, Maltese workers do not suffer, but they are mistaken. People should have their rights safeguarded wherever they come from," Camilleri said, adding that businesses that engage in abusive hiring and firing of employees will suffer the consequences. 

In April, human rights lawyer and Aditus Foundation CEO Neil Falzon told parliament that abusive employers are firing third-country national employees without informing them, resulting in their deportation. 

“These are not populist measures. They fight abuse and give more control,” Camilleri said.