The GWU today called on the government to crack down on the exploitation of migrant workers and to introduce stiffer penalties on those employers who abuse.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb told a press conference that migrant workers who were allowed to work should be offered the same conditions as Maltese and efforts should be made to integrate them.

He warned that inferior conditions, including inferior pay and inferior health and safety conditions, were wrong not only in the case of these workers, but also the Maltese workers. Cheap labour, he insisted, should not be allowed to rear its ugly head.

The comments were made when Mr Zarb presented a document on the exploitation of migrant workers in Malta.

He pointed out that Malta had two forms of migrant workers - those from Eastern Europe who came to Malta regularly and were often employed in the tourism industry, and irregular migrants.

The GWU document says that rregular migrant workers have become a "national scourge for our country."

"In reality, the vast majority of these irregular migrant workers are black and are often employed in very dangerous and underpaid conditions. Very often payments are far less than the national minimum wage. It is a shame that these workers have, on various occasions in the past and even in the present, been employed under such exploitative conditions in projects that are ultimately financed by the Maltese Government itself. It is also a reality that the majority of irregular migrant workers are loathe to report any abuses that may encounter in their place of work because they are very much aware that such reports may lead to their dismissal and may even lead to the far worse fate of their deportation to their mother country."

Mr Zarb insisted that no worker should be exploited, whether Maltese or foreign, and independently of his race or religion.

He said workers should organise themselves in trade unions to have their rights protected. The GWU, on its part, would train its shop stewards on such issues, including integration of migrant workers.

The union late next month will also hold a conference on the subject.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, speaking yesterday, also mentioned exploitation of migrant workers as an issue which the country had to tackle.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.