Filipino workers sometimes end up at the mercy of employers who threaten to withdraw their work permit if they complain about unfair conditions or want to change jobs, according to two trade unions.

“Such cases are not one-offs. There are more than one can imagine,” Kevin Camilleri, secretary of the General Workers’ Union’s hospital and food section, said.

Such practice particularly occurred in cases when a Filipino worker was employed in a domestic setting, such as a housekeeper, working and living with their employer who “holds the key” to their work permit, he added.

They were scared to speak up for fear of losing their right to be in Malta

For this reason, the union was suggesting that work permits should not be issued on the employer’s name but directly to the employee, as was the case in Spain. The proposal was made to the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations, he said.

Mr Camilleri said the union met representatives of the Filipino community who were worried about the situation, which was also a European reality. The GWU knew of people whose employers made them work long hours without being granted the leave entitlement they were entitled to at law and with salaries below the minimum wage.

However, he noted, such people were scared to speak up for fear of losing their work permit and, therefore, their right to be in Malta. Most sent money to their families back home.

Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin president Jesmond Bonello agreed this was a problem that affected various non-EU nationals.

He said the union had proposed improving coordination between the Employment and Training Corporation, which issued work permits, and the Employment Directorate. This would ensure an employment contract, outlining work conditions, would be agreed upon before the work permit was issued. Thus, workers would, at least, be aware of their rights, he said.

Figures released in January by the Employment Ministry showed that Filipinos hold 946 work permits, including 750 by women who were often employed as care workers and housekeepers.

On Monday, Times of Malta reported the case of Filipino Jayson Vizconde, 35, who is being held in a detention centre after he was arrested on July 9 for working without a permit while in between jobs. His residency permit is valid till the end of the month.

His new employer, Joseph Spiteri, is fighting for his release and is insisting that Mr Vizconde should not have to pay the price for a misunderstanding. Mr Spiteri misunderstood a document sent to him by the ETC to mean that Mr Vizconde could start working, following a conversation he had on those lines with an ETC official.

He is now appealing a removal order issued against the Filipino. The Immigration Appeals Board hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

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