Pensions Expert Says Foreign Workers Keep Malta Running In Strong Message To PN
Leading pensions expert David Spiteri Gingell has urged the PN to stop “fuelling fear” against foreign workers, insisting they are essential to keep Malta functioning.
Spiteri Gingell spoke out after Shadow Finance Minister Adrian Delia shone a light on “scary” data which shows that foreign nationals now outnumber Maltese people in six towns.
He said that Malta should “embrace, rather than tolerate” third-country nationals, particularly in light of longstanding data which indicates the country is staring into the face of demographic collapse.
“Other advanced economies do this without shame. The US (pre-Trump). Germany. Australia,” he said.
“They target skilled and competent TCNs because they strengthen their economies. They know exactly what they are doing.”
Spiteri Gingell went on to argue that rising education levels mean fewer Maltese people are willing to work in certain jobs that are crucial for the economy to function.
“Today we have more graduates and post-graduates than at any time in our history. But that success has consequences,” he said.
“The jobs Maltese once did — cleaners in hospitals, hotels, drivers, carers — are not the jobs their children will do. Their children are doctors, engineers, architects, lawyers. This is what upward mobility looks like.”
“So let’s ask a simple question: who keeps the system running?”
“Tourism relies on cleaners and support staff. Hospitals rely on orderlies and carers. Transport relies on drivers. These roles are the oil in the engine. You don’t see them, but without them the engine seizes.”
Spiteri Gingell warned the PN that Maltese people are unlikely to return to such jobs, even if the government restricts entry to TCN workers.
“If the PN thinks that restricting entry for TCNs will magically make Maltese return to these jobs, they are deluding themselves. The sectors will stall. The system will slow. Then it will break,” he said.
“And no — robots will not be stepping in. AI will not be speaking Maltese to our elderly parents in care homes. These technologies exist globally, yes – and have done so for years. But here? Have we tested them? Piloted them? Applied them?”
“No. Where proposals were submitted for EU funding — and I know of at least one — they were rejected at the national level.”
“So let’s cut through the bullshit.”
“TCNs keep Malta functioning. They stop the engine from seizing. They hold up sectors that Maltese will not return to. They support an economy built on services, mobility, care, tourism, hospitality.”
“And the PN knows this. Yet it continues to fuel resentment and fear, because it thinks this will win it votes.”
“To the PN: do the country a decent thing. Stop pumping hatred into the national bloodstream.”
“It is reckless. It is dishonest. It is dangerous. And I, for one, will not forgive you for it.”
Photo Left: Adrian Delia, Photo Right: David Spiteri Gingell (Photo: LinkedIn)