Workers told to pay €336 ‘bond’ to Mr. Clean or face deportation, court hears

Three more former employees of Mr. Clean Ltd have testified that deductions had been made from their pay, but did not agree on what the deductions had been made for.

The Filipinos testified before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera in the case against Joseph Degiorgio, 71, his two sons Paul Degiorgio, 47, Christopher Degiorgio and non-executive director Josianne Bugeja Degiorgio, who are fighting charges of human trafficking.

The workers told the magistrate that they had been asked by their employer to give it a returnable bond of €336, payable in two monthly installments of €168 or be sacked and deported.

The court heard the witnesses, two men and a woman, explain how they had been put in touch with the company by a Filipino agency after paying up to €6,500 each. They started working for the company in December 2014.

All three claimed that the conditions listed in the contract they had signed in the Philippines before coming to Malta included accommodation and food expenses, but found this to not be the case upon arrival. Once in Malta, they were asked to sign a second contract, a copy of which, none of them had been given.

But cross-examined by the defence, the witnesses gave different explanations to the court as to the reason for this deduction. While two of them appeared to struggle to reply to the defence – though not for prosecution questions, the third employee claimed that Joseph Degiorgio had described the deposit to be a “bond” which would only be refunded upon expiry of the contract. If they were to leave their employment this would not be refunded.

One worker testified that she had no option but pay the deposit as otherwise she would not be able to give financial support to her family in the Philippines.

The defence pointed out that the decision to deduct this deposit had been reversed and no deduction had been made in April’s salary. It also pointed out that prior to affecting the deposits, the employees had been invited for an explanation at the company’s office, but none of the witnesses had turned up.

The workers had decided to stop turning up for work after hearing about the arraignment of the company directors, fearing the company was in trouble. The woman told the court that she had not returned her work and residence permits.

Police inspectors Joseph Busuttil and John Spiteri are prosecuting.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Joe Giglio, Amadeus Cachia and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel.

Lawyers Lara Dimitrijevic and Anne Marie Bisazza appeared parte civile for the workers.