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Malta’s future mega hospital Mater Dei at Tal-Qroqq is home not only to Malta’s financial black hole, it also houses foreign workers who are utilised on various projects on the age-old white elephant.
There is nothing wrong with having foreign workers working here.
Foreign workers tend to be more diligent and their work ethic is infinitely better than that of the average Maltese.
This newspaper deplores the xenophobia and fear of foreigners working in a dynamic and open economy. Foreign workers from the developed and underdeveloped world contribute to a more dynamic work force and a riveting economy.
Yet, the news that over 60 Indian workers are complaining about their salary and work conditions is another indication of the way we look at foreigners in general.
The reason that a company operating in Malta chose to employ foreign workers is either because of their expertise or because of the dearth of Maltese workers in the field.
The Indian workers have told Super One who reported the story that their wage for a month was just under Lm244. But after deducting accomodation costs they were given a salary of Lm136.
Needless to say their accommodation was nothing close to what the normal Maltese worker is accustomed to.
The sight of foreign workers on public and private projects is not a rare sight. The rumours that Maltese companies take advantage of foreign workers, with a work permit or without, are not uncommon either.
This is not a third world country, rather this is a relatively well off nation where values traditionally backed by the overwhelming Christian majority are considered to be very important.
Only two months ago, another newspaper reported that a group of Indian workers also working at Mater Dei had been paid Lm20 in three months.
The authorities are duty bound to investigate such claims and take all the remedial action expected in normal circumstances.
Mater Dei is a publicly funded project and is administered directly by the Maltese government. There are no excuses here.
The presence of foreign workers in Malta is not an issue.
If Indian, Serb, Chinese and Sicilian workers choose to work in Malta, then so be it, as long as they are employed legally, paying all their tax and national insurance dues.
To employ foreign workers because they are simply cheaper or less demanding is not on and should never be accepted. Similarly, the illegal employment of Maltese workers can never be condoned.
The black market is bad for everyone and government has a duty to crack down on illegal employment irrespective of the nationality of the person involved.
The revelation of how badly Indian workers were treated in Malta continues to highlight the issue of xenophobia. It also underlines the insensitivity prevalent in many of society’s different segments.
We must not only appear to move on as a nation but react to the demands of a globalised world where skin colour and race should never be used to discriminate against one another.
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