[WATCH] Angele Deguara: ‘Social benefits should not make up for bad work conditions’

Workers in Malta deserve better conditions and the country’s current economic model does little to address these shortcomings, Angele Deguara believes.

The veteran Moviment Graffitti activist and sociology lecturer sits down with me to discuss government’s economic policy, the need to improve workers’ rights and conditions, and how she believes authorities are enabling the exploitation of foreign labour.

“We don’t agree with social welfare compensating for the bad conditions of workers. A quality budget distributes wealth in a fairer way not through welfare,” she says in reaction to Budget 2025.

Deguara says that while it is positive to lower taxes for low-income workers, the wealthy should not be enjoying the same benefits.

“It’s good that you lower taxes for the less wealthy, but were those who earn much more, taxed more? No. How just is distribution of wealth in this country? Did government introduce any measures targeting the super wealthy? No, it didn’t,” she says.

The activist also discusses the NGO’s campaign, launched earlier this year, called Justice For Workers. Organisations are asking for a substantial increase in salaries at the lower end of the income scale, and for a betterment in all workers’ conditions through mandatory measures in order to achieve a balance between personal life and work.

Asked why organisations feel the need for such a campaign, she says Malta’s neo-liberal economy prioritises growth “over anything else”.

“The economy is growing just for the sake of growing, but who is really benefitting from this growth?” she asks. “It’s backfiring on its architects.”

Deguara also speaks on the exploitation of third-country nationals (TCNs), saying they are subject to massive exploitation by their employers

The following is an excerpt of the interview.

The full interview can also be viewed on Facebook and Spotify.

We hear a lot about the need for a new economic model. Politicians are saying this, NGOs are saying this, you are saying this. But if we do change our economic model, will the problems and issues we experience take on a different shape?

When you say you want a change in the economic model, you have to say what kind of change you want. I am speaking on behalf of Moviment Graffitti, and we want an economic model which puts workers and people at its centre – we, the people who live on this piece of rock; we who work every day.

We want the economy to grow, but it should not expand so aggressively that it leaves destruction in its wake. Yes, we do have growth, but it does not mean we have a strong economy. A strong economy means it is a sustainable and resilient economy which is enjoyed by the people not just those who only seek to make profits.

When your only intention is to grow the economy, other priorities are ignored. Government has allowed employers and the private sector to do as they please, with no control.

Foreign workers seem to be at the centre of the debate on the country’s economic model. Are we forgetting their humanity?

This massive growth they pride themselves with, has led to a lot of people and groups to call for a new economic model. You don’t have the political parties or Moviment Graffitti only calling for it; you have economists, you have social partners and even the government. But despite government slogans and calls, nothing has changed and we still seem to be heading in the same direction.

Now, going back to the foreign worker issue. Let us not be tricked into thinking that this is just a foreign worker problem. Sometimes, to be populist, politicians give the impression that these foreign workers appeared out of thin air, but they obviously didn’t. Why did they come to Malta? Who told them to come here? It was the government’s economic policy which attracted them here. The economy grew so much that there were no more Maltese workers to fill vacancies, leading employers to look beyond our shores to find their workforce.

They come here to work in appalling conditions, are exploited and every drop is squeezed out of them, and then you listen to politicians saying how they would be sending them back, as if it wasn’t they who brought them here in the first place…

After we get our takeaways, and make use of their services at the hospital…

Exactly. These temping agencies are allowed to operate in such a way because they are allowed by government to do so. Why do you allow such exploitation? Regulate the market and fix the problem.

[…]

Foreign workers, especially third-country nationals, in order to work in the country, need to have residency permits. This permit is tied to their employment, and this is EU-wide, but the problem in Malta is that this permit is tied to the employer, and not just the fact that you are working.

So, you are saying that this puts these workers at the mercy of their employers…

Exactly, and this gives a lot of power to the employer, paving the way for rampant abuse and exploitation. What happens is that a precarious situation is created, and workers are not given the peace of mind that their employment will be retained beyond the one year the permit allows.

You want the minimum wage to increase, but if the minimum wage is increased drastically, will we not see businesses offloading that burden onto consumers, leading to a wave of inflation, which in turn impacts low-income earners the most?

Low wages or not, inflation will happen. You live in Malta like me, and you know the prices are increasing without any control. As we know the wages in Malta are very low, and government did increase the minimum wage by a little bit, but this is not enough.

Our call is based on a study Moviment Graffitti did last year with the General Workers Union and the Alliance against Poverty, where we established what the decent amount people should get, and with these increases we are not even close.

Taking into consideration inflation, property prices, rent prices and food prices, this increase means nothing to workers. We are among the worst countries in wage value, which means what is left in workers’ pockets after they have paid their required expenses to get their basic needs.