Watch: ‘No Room For Games’ – Robert Abela Warns Against Cab And Food Courier Loopholes
After announcing a blanket ban on new work permits for cab drivers and food couriers, Prime Minister Robert Abela warned temping agencies not to try and find loopholes to bring in new third country nationals for these sectors.
On ONE TV’s Paperscan today, Abela said JobsPlus has already refused hundreds of applications whereby workers had applied for certain jobs but ended up working as cab drivers or food couriers.
“There is no room for these sorts of games,” Abela warned. “To those who are trying to pass through the ventilator, I tell you that it’s not even worth the time you will waste because your applications will be refused.”
Abela said that this blanket ban will do justice to Maltese workers who had purchased a car to operate in the sector but whose earnings dropped significantly, sometimes below the minimum wage, due to increased competition from foreign workers.
He also said it will incentivise employers to treat their current foreign workers with dignity and improve their conditions, as they won’t be able to replace them with other foreign workers if they decide to leave Malta.
However, the Prime Minister dodged a question on whether prices of cab rides and food deliveries will shoot up as a consequence of this reform, only stating that “a few people will make a lot of noise because they are comfortable with the status quo”.
In a few weeks’ time, JobsPlus is set to publish a labour market review to determine which jobs should be closed off to third country nationals. Abela pledged that it will only be implemented after an extensive consultation period but indicated that workers in the health and elderly care sectors won’t be impacted.
“I could be populist, as some like to be, and say that Malta doesn’t need any foreign workers or that we can get by without any more of them. However, if I had to embark on that narrative in those two sectors, I would be wrong and dishonest with the people.”
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