Identità CEO Mark Mallia has listed four “models of abuse” that employers use when hiring workers from outside the EU.

He said he was receiving reports of contracts being offered for jobs that don’t exist and workers paid less than agreed.

In some cases, employers apply for more work permits than the number of workers they need while others sign agreements with temping agencies that don’t have workers’ details filled out.  

Employed illegally and paid in cash

Employees are sometimes also convinced to work illegally and be paid in cash, he told a conference hosted by the Malta Employers Association on foreign workers in the logistics industry last week.

“All these allegations I’ve mentioned we do not take lightly and our compliance unit within Identità are working on each and every report we receive and on every allegation we receive,” Mallia said.

He said the agency is working with the government to find ways to mitigate abuse and possibly eradicate it.

On Tuesday, Mallia said that the government immigration agency has increased its due diligence checks, but abuse is still present.

“We need to eliminate abuses; we read stories in the media, we receive reports of certain abuses, and I will mention some of the models that we are hearing of on a regular basis,” Mallia said.  

One form of abuse is third country-nationals being offered an employment contract in Malta only to be told there is no job for them, Mallia said. They would then have to search for other potential work. 

“That is not right, and we (Identità) will not be there to widen anyone’s pocket,” Mallia said. 

Broken employment contract conditions

Employers also submit one employment contract to Identità but then change employment conditions in practice, offering much less pay. 

Another form of abuse is when temping agencies and companies sign declarations of postings without including any particulars of would-be workers. 

A declaration-of-posting document signed between a temping agency and the company using its services is an Identià requirement for a third-country national who plans to work at the agency, Mallia said. 

However, “a good number” of declarations are signed when they are still empty with no particulars filled in. 

“That is another form of abuse, and I do sincerely hope there is no payment for that,” Mallia said.

In other cases, employers apply for more workers than they need. The others do not join the business “but shop around in Malta or flee to other European countries,” he said.  

“We’re not there to facilitate these types of applications.”  

Mallia was also part of a panel at a conference hosted by the Chamber of SME’s on Thursday.

There he said that Identità is working with police and the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations to curb abuse.

His comments come at a time when third country-national workers in Malta are increasingly a topic of debate.

In August, Times of Malta reported that the government was planning to limit the number of non-EU nationals in Malta. 

“We acknowledge that many non-EU workers are contributing productively to the economy. But ultimately, yes, there is a concerted effort to limit the population growth,” Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri had said. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela has made similar assertions. 

In September, he said: “Where there is no need for foreign workers, we will be saying no, foreign workers will come to this country according to the need”.

Times of Malta has reported several cases of abuse of third-country nationals. 

Mallia appealed to employers to focus on bringing quality workers instead of focusing on quantity. 

He said legislation ensuring that Y-plate cab drivers needed a Maltese or EU licence to work, as well as plans to introduce a skills card for workers in the tourism industry, showed that the government was working towards quality.

The government is also planning to introduce legislation on temping agencies, although details on that are still scarce.