WATCH | Clyde won’t budge on non-EU worker measures

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana won’t move an inch amid calls for concessions to the Budget 2027 measures impacting non-EU workers. 

In an interview with MaltaToday, Caruana said that, save for some cosmetic changes, the measures he announced in his budget are, as far as he is concerned, “set in stone”. 

Caruana’s statement comes amid attempts for concessions by some within the Labour Party and government, who are privately expressing concerns with the measures impacting third-country nationals. 

Several PL and government sources, who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of anonymity described a last-ditch attempt to ensure the burdens imposed on non-EU workers are shared with employers. 

As a result of the budget measures, third country nationals (TCNs), who do not have long-term residency will no longer benefit from free public transport and childcare. Non-EU workers with driving licences will be made to pay a new €83 monthly fee unless they work as drivers. 

The measures also introduce higher application and renewal fees, as well as an annual €400 “infrastructure contribution” that must be paid by new applicants and TCNs who are already in Malta and want to renew their residence. 

The finance minister has described the higher fees and removal of benefits as measures intended to increase the cost for businesses employing non-EU workers, thereby reducing demand for new TCNs. But as things currently stand, employers are not obliged to cover their employees’ new costs. 

Sources within the government, unhappy with the measures targeting TCNs, singled out the removal of free childcare services for non-EU workers as “morally reprehensible”, while the infrastructure contribution was described as a “tax on work”. 

The comments match the sentiment of public comments made by leftist voices. Following the budget speech, a number of people on the left, slammed the measures as anti-socialist, with the Secretary General of the General Workers’ Union, Kevin Camilleri, being among the most prominent voices of opposition. 

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant was the latest senior Labour voice to question the efficacy of the measures to reduce overpopulation, while calling them “unjust”. 

According to party sources, Sant is not alone in his scepticism, noting that the measures are a money-grabbing exercise meant to finance the PL’s super bonus pledge. 

Apart from the moral implications of the measures, those who spoke to this newspaper were concerned the measures could have worrying consequences for the Maltese economy and its labour force. 

“Malta is competing for skilled TCNs with other EU countries,” one source explained, insisting the measures could push foreign workers with other options to relocate elsewhere while Malta imports lower-skilled workers. 

MaltaToday understands that discussions within party and government circles on concessions and burden sharing are gaining momentum. Nonetheless, in his interview with MaltaToday, Caruana insisted the budget was untouchable. 

Meanwhile, the PL started disseminating a petition last week, asking people to support the budget by signing up. 

The petition accuses the Nationalist Party of voting against investment in families and businesses, the super bonus, and continued tax cuts for parents. 

“Through this petition, we are expressing our support of the Malta Miegħek Budget, presented by Minister Clyde Caruana, so the announced measures are translated into positive results for our families, workers, pensioners, and businesses,” the petition reads. 

The petition is really a political gimmick since the PL has a comfortable majority in parliament to pass the budget. 

Caruana defends socialist credentials 

In the face of mounting public pressure, the finance minister defended his socialist credentials while sitting down with MaltaToday. 

Caruana insisted the measures come after years of concerns being raised about overpopulation, citing survey after survey in which it tops the list of concerns.  

He noted that as an elected representative, he is duty-bound to act on the concerns affecting the electorate, describing the Budget 2027 measures as the first step in doing so. 

He condemned the wave of xenophobic and racist comments from across society, rejecting the notion that government attempted to ride the wave of racist sentiment. 

“The government is acting on what the Maltese and Gozitan people have been saying, because that is its duty and what is expected of it. Now, regarding the comments themselves; if a comment is racist, you condemn it. That is all,” Caruana said.