Equality Watchdog Investigating ‘Sexism’ In Pakistan Ad For Malta Bus Drivers
Malta’s Commission for Equality is “investigating” a Pakistani job posting for bus drivers on the island for discrimination, after it specified applicants must be male and aged between 25 and 40.
Faced with a shortage of Maltese bus drivers, Malta Public Transport has been forced to look beyond its shores and commission foreign recruitment agencies – including in Pakistan – to find new workers for the agency. MPT has described itself as an equal opportunities employer that welcomes everyone on board, so long as they meet its safety and job requirements.
However, many people pounced on a clause in an ad by a Pakistani recruitment agency commissioner by MPT, which suggests these requirements include being male and aged between 25 and 40. Now civil liberties minister Helena Dalli has confirmed in Parliament, when questioned by Opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg, that the Equality Commission has launched an investigation into the ad.
It is unclear what action the Equality Commission can take against a recruitment agency based overseas.
Earlier this month, twelve Pakistanis who were on their way to Malta to work as bus drivers were arrested at an airport in Pakistan on suspicion that they were travelling illegally.