Investors' perception of Malta improves - lack of human resources felt across all sectors

Galea. L

Jul 15th 2009, 18:22

stephen farrugia, joe attard
You are both right. Foreigners in certain jobs are paid much more than Maltese workers when many times the Maltese workers have to tell them how to do their job, while a lot of foreigners are paid less than Maltese workers undercutting the Maltese workers both in wages and working conditions. This is all happening because there is no real control on the working conditions by the relevant authorities who are also issuing work permits left, right and centre to foreigners.

Peter Korsten
How benevolent of you to choose to come here and work for less pay than you would get in your own country!!!! Normally people who are sent overseas are paid better than their home pay. So is your company exploiting you?

stephen farrugia
You are right. It's illegal and people should go to a union, even individually, and the union would then try to organize them and conclude a collective agreement with their employer. The employers are only after milking their employers to the last drop of blood as we do not have a real authority to keep them in check.

A. Vassallo

Jul 15th 2009, 14:17

@ stephen farrugia

Yes you are right. Telling your employees that it is not allowed that employees (Maltese or of any nationality in that case) join a union is not just illegal but it goes against the Right of Association enshrined in our Maltese Constitution.

The only problem is that this must be in writing or within their Contract of Service. If anyone has anything of this sort in writing and hence can be proved, do not hesitate to contact a union, the UHM etc. and they will take care of this affair themselves.

stephen farrugia

Jul 15th 2009, 13:24

Now we even now have overseas companies that don't allow their Maltese staff to join a union. Thats racism and I believe it is not even legal, am i right ?

A. Vassallo

Jul 15th 2009, 13:09

Not only employers across the board in all sections of the economy pay their employees peanuts, but worse still they are only employing them without any job security on Part-Time Basis, with Definite Contracts and even within the black economy.

All they want to do is increase their own bank balances, and nobody else's.

A Cassar

Jul 15th 2009, 13:09

@joe attard
I assume that you are not an employer.......if you were you would know why investors are complaining. Try to recruit a dozen JAVA programmers, you would get 3 or 4 applicants, half of them would have never programmed in JAVA but decided to apply anyway.

Peter Korsten

Jul 15th 2009, 13:08

@Stephen Farrugia

If there was a morsel of truth in your comments (which there isn't), I wouldn't have my job (which would pay considerably better in my native Netherlands) here in Malta. What we found at our company is that it was practically impossible to find skilled staff, unless we got them from abroad, or had to train them ourselves.

And yet I pay a lot of taxes, that pay for an oversized public sector, and not for decent roads. If thousands are losing their jobs (a claim I don't see substantiated), it's in no small part because thousands of fake jobs were created in the past, in order to win some votes.

If some of the people, who take five persons to do the work of one, would receive compulsory training in jobs for which there is actually a need, Malta's competitveness would increase, GDP per capita would go up, and perhaps we could reduce the stiffling deficit and national debt, and who knows, perhaps we could have decent roads as well.

But it's easier to complain and blame foreigners, than to get up one's behind and actually do something.

john fenech

Jul 15th 2009, 12:47

You know these surveys are like a maze to discern if the questions were answered or if more questions were raised! For instance 42% said their perception of Malta had improved. And 50% were also confident that things would continue to improve fine.

So is it 50% of 42% who were also confident that things would continue to improve. Or 50% of the total who were also confident that things would continue to improve.
If it is the latter it could be that 8% missed the first part of the survey, on the other hand if it is 42% out of 50% well..? But not to worry because 75% said they would consider expanding their Malta operation! Who ever doubted that business men are not all heart?

Then as usual the negative points raised in previous surveys have remained stumbling blocks, the most worrying is the lack of skilled labour! I think that today technicians have to be highly skilled and professionals must have hands on experience while HR personnel have to be trained to choose the best suited for the job and then keep them satisfied in their work place!

stephen farrugia

Jul 15th 2009, 12:35

@ Joe Attard

You are very right and all the high paid jobs are given to ' outsiders' who ask the Maltese how to do the job. Thousands of Maltese are lossing their jobs because we have 49,000 people with ID cards from many other countries.

joe attard

Jul 15th 2009, 12:07

I wonder who provides the information for these surveys! There is NO lack of skilled professionals in Malta. There is a great lack of skilled professionals willing to work for peanuts that is why the younger ones leave to work abroad and the older ones simply take the first opportunity that comes along.