Abela also noted that the government recently introduced a skills card for third-country nationals who wish to work in the hospitality industry, an obligation that will be extended to Maltese and EU nationals next year.

“I heard the Opposition Leader say that waiters should know how to speak basic Maltese, but he doesn’t even know that one of the modules in the skills card process is specifically intended to teach them basic Maltese.”

Abela said that the decision to ban new third-country nationals from working as cab drivers or Y plate drivers was partially a reaction to the elections of 8th June, when the Labour Party lost its 35,000-40,000 supermajority for the first time in 15 years.

However, he insisted that it wasn’t a snap reaction to public complaints, stating that JobsPlus’ labour market exercise started earlier but intensified after the election.

You can watch Lovin Malta’s full interview with Robert Abela below.

Asked whether he wants more Maltese people to work in the hospitality industry, Abela urged employers to increase their salaries.

“One of the aims of this hospitality reform is for employers not to simply claim that the Maltese aren’t interested in these jobs. The hospitality sector’s best workers are Maltese and Gozitans, but they expect decent salaries and I believe they should have them.”

He also defended the government’s action with regards to the minimum wage, which is currently only the 12th highest among EU countries.

“We are the first government who will increase the mimum wage every year until the end of the legislature,” he said.