Employees who worked at the Ta’ Xbiex Christmas Village say they have yet to be paid for their work, almost a year after the festive attraction closed its doors.

One worker said he was so desperate that he begged his boss for half his salary but he still refused to pay him anything.

During their month at Christmas Village, most of the employees, all non-EU nationals, worked seven days a week, sometimes clocking 15-hour days.

Nine workers, mainly Indian nationals, who spoke to Times of Malta were hired by a subcontracting company, JK Security Services Limited, which provided manpower to the Christmas Village and promised their workers between €6 and €7 an hour.

JK Security timesheets seen by Times of Malta show that several workers clocked in over 250 hours throughout the month.

“I didn’t even get a single euro to survive, to eat food or pay rent,” one of the workers told Times of Malta.

Between December 10 and January 8, the Ta’ Xbiex marina hosted a Christmas Village with attractions like ice rinks, bumping cars and virtual rides.

The workers who were recruited by JK Security and who spoke to Times of Malta were responsible for constructing the Christmas Village, maintaining its attractions, manning stands, cleaning and serving refreshments.

Eight workers who were not paid for their services said they had no written contract but only had a verbal agreement with JK Security owner Kevin Borg.

“We were not working legally, so what could we do? If I went to the authorities, I could have been deported,” one worker said.

Another worker, 64-year-old George Vassallo, said he was recruited directly by the organiser of the Christmas Village, Jean Paul Micallef.

Vassallo says he is owed some €1,500 for work he did as a maintenance worker, carpenter and kitchen helper during the month-long Christmas attraction.

One person who said he had a work permit with JK Security, however, said he was paid for his work.

Some workers learnt about the chance to work at the Christmas Village with JK Security through social media posts and word of mouth.

Others said they were sent to work with JK Security by the company that had arranged their migration from India but had no job to offer when they arrived in Malta.

Times of Malta has reported how Indian nationals often pay thousands of euros in agency fees to work in Malta only to find that the job promised to them does not exist.

A group chat named ‘JK group team’ that included Borg, JK Security managers and workers, had 35 participants.

“We need someone to answer whether you will pay our wages or not... It is unfair that we continue waiting and asking for that every day,” one worker said.

Another said he is facing issues with his landlord as he could not pay the month’s rent.

In a series of messages, Borg replied: “Brother, your problem is to pay rent; my problem is to pay over 200 workers and company reputation; cause of some irresponsible people, I lost company reputation; think about this also, you don’t know what damage you made to JK group; big damage.”

In the WhatsApp group chat, Borg at first informed employees that he was waiting for payment from the organiser of the Christmas Village, Micallef, before he could then be able to pay the workers.

But later, Borg amended his story, saying that Micallef did not want to pay as workers had been “stealing” from the village.

“[By the] end of the month, I will surely pay those who truly worked hard,” Borg said on January 24.

Asked several times for updates by unpaid workers, Borg said on January 29 he was conducting an “internal investigation”.

“I am wasting my precious time to see CCTV footage instead of bringing more business; I am still checking who were the ones. But now you can understand better what happened,” he said.

Giving an “example” of “stealing”, Borg said that one worker poured general volumes of whiskey into a client’s cup and did not take tokens from them.

“Which means that the client drank for free. I have loads of other videos like this,” he said.

But, when asked, Borg declined to give more examples.  “If I was a foreigner in another country who gives me the opportunity to work hard, I would never do this,” he said.

“I am a director who gives people the opportunity to work hard to have a better life and this is how I am compensated,” Borg asked.

When some workers said they would be reporting the case to Jobsplus, Borg said no one from the group was allowed to visit his office.

“OK so go to Jobsplus, so you want to behave like this: nobody comes to my office as from tomorrow, if someone comes I will call the police”.

Attempts to contact Borg by phone as well as via messages proved fruitless.

Borg also failed to appear for a scheduled meeting with Times of Malta. E-mails, messages and phone calls were also made to the Christmas Village owner, Micallef.

Times of Malta also tried to approach Micallef in person at the offices of a business owned by him. The Ta’ Xbiex Christmas Village is set to return this year.

“After the successful Christmas Village Malta in 2022, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be back with something even more beautiful and charming,” the website christmasvillagemalta.com says.