Equality Secretary Says Malta’s Foreign Workers Deserve Respect Too: ‘We Wouldn’t Be Where We Are Today Without Them’
Parliamentary secretary for equality Rosianne Cutajar has called for a sense of respect and empathy to foreign workers during these troubling times.
In what appears to be a response to Economy Minister Silvio Schembri’s recent statement that third-country nationals who lose their jobs must return to their countries of origin, Cutajar said the Maltese economy wouldn’t have grown in the first place without the contribution of several foreign workers.
“In the best of times, we worked together rationally and with a common goal,” she said. “We accepted everyone who wanted to be part of the Maltese dream and, thanks to government measures, we started building a new Maltese community: a richer and more diverse one.”
“Now that the clouds have formed, let’s not stop over here. Let’s show respect and empathy to everyone, particularly those who work in the toughest, most humbling jobs, without whom we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Transport Minister Ian Borg also said all workers deserve thanks, irrespective of who they are.
“Transport and infrastructure is a vehicle through which impressive work can take place, even in these delicate times,” he said. “We must take the occasion to thank our other heroes: those who deliver merchandise and other supplies to stores, those who transport people from place to place, and above all the everyday workers who work in our streets to keep improving our infrastructure.”
Following criticism at Schembri’s remarks aired by iGaming employees, the parliamentary secretary in charge of the sector, Clayton Bartolo, also reached out to workers in the industry.
“I have always believed that our country’s economic success was not achieved by this Government alone, but through collective effort of all stakeholders from the smallest employee to the largest corporation,” he said.
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