No foreign construction company outside the European Union would be allowed to engage non-EU workers in Malta at below the minimum wage, the Prime Minister warned on Sunday.
However, he acknowledged that the government might have to change the laws, to close “potential loopholes” which could encourage such abuse.
Joseph Muscat sounded this warning when interviewed on the Labour radio station.
Read: ‘Turkish village’ outside Mqabba was to stay for five years
He said that, since 2013, the number of foreign workers in the construction industry had only increased marginally - from six to seven out of every 100.
Reacting to concerns that thousands of Turkish construction workers were on their way to Malta, he pointed out that this contractor was not the one working on the Addolorata junction, but on a massive private development in Sliema.
Dr Muscat said he wanted to debunk certain “myths”, saying it was not true that 5,000 Turks would be imported, but 500. And, so far, only 60 had arrived.
However, he expressed his concern on the employment conditions and their living quarters in Malta.
“It is not acceptable for them to be accommodated in tents. This is out of question,” he remarked.
The Prime Minister added that if decent conditions were not provided, no work permits would be issued and if they were issued, they would be revoked.
However, Dr Muscat acknowledged that from an analysis of Maltese legislation it transpired there was a “potential loophole” with regards to non-EU companies engaging third country (non-EU) nationals. Such situation arose as there seemed to be a vacuum in regulations, he said.
“We are ready to enact a law in this regard… We will not tolerate non-EU workers being paid below the minimum wage as this would be unfair competition to Maltese workers,” he added.
Environment
Dr Muscat referred to an afforestation project in Bengħisa saying 5,000 trees would be planted. He denied rumours that this was being done to compensate for a further expansion of the Freeport. However, he said that the Environment Resources Authority was exploring the possibility of expanding the Freeport through land reclamation.
Speaking about waste management, the Prime Minister said that by the end of the year the bottle return scheme would be introduced, whereby customers would be charged 10 cents extra, which they could reclaim if they returned the plastic container. This was being done to safeguard the environment and avoid the disposal of plastic into the sea, he said.
As for domestic organic waste, Dr Muscat noted that 7,000 tonnes of organic waste had already been collected since the introduction of this scheme last November.
The Prime Minister reiterated that, later this year, a decision would be taken on when the importation of fossil-fuel cars would be banned. Malta, he said, wanted to be among the first group of EU countries to start the transition towards electric cars. This could happen in seven, eight or 10 years’ time.
Dr Muscat added that government would be rolling out incentives to help owners of electric cars with their electricity bill if they charged their vehicle at home.
Crime
Dr Muscat welcomed the news that criminality in 2018 had declined by seven per cent. Such achievement belied the harsh criticism the Opposition had been levelling against the police force in recent years, he remarked.
He expressed disgust at the wave of vandalism in the form of graffiti which was spreading around the island. The Prime Minister said that the police were working hard to find the culprits.