Looking back 2025 | Malta’s new underclass exposed

The economy has come a long way since Labour took office in 2013. For the last 12 years, the Maltese have seen their disposable income rise, unemployment practically extinguished, and in a time of international turmoil, Malta remains relatively stable.

But there is more than a hint of irony in the fact that Labour’s economic miracle is largely underpinned by the creation of a new underclass—people who are often seen as expendable. They are sometimes unceremoniously branded by politicians as a necessary evil to sustain economic growth and social progress.

In 2025, MaltaToday gave its platform to the voiceless, abused, and discarded members of this new underclass—the non-EU foreign workers.

As they shared their stories, a clear pattern emerged: Workers giving up their life savings to find opportunities in Malta, where they are placed at the mercy of employers and landlords, and left with little chance for justice when they are no longer deemed useful.

Abuse at the workplace

The path to Malta for many third country nationals (TCNs) begins with exorbitant recruitment fees, often ranging from €4,500 to as much as €12,000. Upon arrival, the ‘promised land’ reveals itself to be a landscape of slave-like working conditions where predatory practices are common.

In the workplace, the exploitation is both financial and psychological. For instance, a food courier reported having €200 deducted from his weekly wages simply to cover the rental costs of the motorcycle he used for deliveries. Other workers were harassed by recruitment agencies demanding payments for what they claimed was overdue National Insurance contributions, despite the employer already having paid it.

When it comes to TCNs’ abuse at the hands of their employers, a particularly effective weapon is the backdated termination, where employers end employment but record the date as weeks or months prior.

As TCNs have a small window to find a new job before their presence becomes illegal, this practice effectively renders them illegal immediately, making them vulnerable to miserable salaries in the shadow economy.

When TCNs attempt to appeal their unjust termination with the Immigration Appeals Board, they enter what some who work in the sector call, a “well of knives”.

Earlier this year, authorities told MaltaToday that as many as 5,000 workers were awaiting decisions. While their lengthy appeals are pending TCNs are legally prohibited from working, a policy that leaves them desperate and drives them into further exploitation.

Meanwhile, the same board that addresses such appeals was found by the European Court of Human Rights to lack a transparent appointment procedure with members susceptible to political pressure due to short mandates.

Abuse at home

Unfortunately, the abuse of TCNs does not end at the workplace. Here too, the same people who fuelled the housing and rental market boom end up victimised by malicious players in the property market.

Tenants have reported being forced to pay illegal fees, such as interest on late rent and mysterious bills, while it is considered a known fact that their deposits will never be refunded.

Contractual manipulation in housing was not an uncommon finding, with some landlords utilising dual contracts, registering a low rent with the Housing Authority to evade taxes while forcing tenants to pay a much higher amount, sometimes via Revolut or cash, under the table.

Contractual manipulation in rental housing for foreigners is not uncommon, leaving tenants in a precarious state (File photo)

In the most extreme case, MaltaToday found a landlord whose reputation for cruelty towards his tenants preceded him. After months of abuse, the landlord’s tenants reported being subjected to racist slurs, while living in fear of the landlord barging into their rooms without notice.

These individual acts of greed were found to be facilitated by significant institutional and regulatory failures. The Housing Authority has admitted that it only screens lease agreements for seven basic items, which allows illegal clauses to go unchecked.

Similarly, Identità does not verify if a landlord’s request to deregister a tenant’s address is lawful, leaving the worker with a few days to update their address before their residence permit is annulled. The lack of oversight creates a landscape where landlords can terminate leases frivolously.

And as we uncovered these abuses, MaltaToday was approached by Maltese tenants who found that they were being refused accommodation simply because they are Maltese.

One director of a small real estate agency admitted that one reason some landlords prefer foreign tenants is that landlords have more control over them.

Unsung heroes

While the stories of TCNs in Malta are often dominated by stories of exploitation, there is a small, dedicated group of individuals and NGOs working to provide a lifeline for those trapped in systemic abuse.

Among the unsung heroes are the General Workers’ Union (GWU), which has become a primary go-to in recovering unpaid wages and exposing fraudulent employment practices.

A photo supplied by the General Workers' Union after food couriers were threatened not to become union members (Photo: GWU)

Its Food and Hospitality Section led by Secretary Kevin Abela has handled cases where employers systematically deducted money from salaries with varying excuses, including one instance where the union fought for an employee entitled to €13,000 in back pay.

To protect vulnerable workers, the union has welcomed hundreds of food couriers and other TCNs into its ranks.

Working in close collaboration with the GWU is Manav Sanger, an Indian social worker and the union’s TCN liaison officer, whose own history with homelessness in Malta has driven him to become a prominent advocate for the migrant community.

Sanger has pushed for systemic reform, arguing that the current policy prohibiting TCNs from working while their immigration appeals are pending is illogical and only fuels abuse.

Another cornerstone of the support network is the tenant and student union Solidarjeta. The union has been instrumental in stopping illegal evictions and challenging the use of illegal contract clauses, which they estimate exist in at least half of all TCN lease agreements.

There are undoubtedly many other people who are working to protect those in Malta’s new underclass, and it is only because of these individuals that TCNs can hope for justice.