Joseph Spiteri hopes that Filipino Jayson Vizconde does not have to pay the price for a genuine misunderstanding. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A Filipino man held in a detention centre after being arrested for working illegally was released on bail just days after his plight was featured in Times of Malta.

Jayson Vizconde, 35, was given bail on Thursday, against a standard €1,000 deposit, pending the verdict of an appeal board that will decide whether to revoke a removal order issued against him.

The next sitting of the Immigration Appeals’ Board was scheduled for August 14, lawyer Neil Falzon said when contacted.

Mr Vizconde will not be able to work while on bail and will be supported by a relative in Malta. His residency permit is valid till the end of the month but he will be able to stay pending the board’s decision.

He was arrested on July 9 for working without a permit following “a misunderstanding”.

Unions worried about the situation

His new employer, Joseph Spiteri, said he could not understand how a genuine mistake led to a man being arrested and detained at the Safi detention centre.

Mr Vizconde, who was in between jobs, was waiting for a work permit to be issued under his new employer. Mr Spiteri said he misunderstood a document sent to him by the Employment and Training Corporation to mean that Mr Vizconde could start working. This followed a conversation he had, on those lines, with an ETC official.

It later turned out, however, that the document simply stated that the work permit application was accepted and was being processed.

As things stand, work permits for non-EU citizens are issued on the name of the employer. Thus, if they want to change job they have to reapply for a work permit under their new employer.

This situation, trade unions fear, could lead to abuse because such workers were left at the mercy of their employers who sometimes threatened to withdraw their work permit if they complained about unfair conditions or wanted to change job.

Both the General Workers’ Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin said they were worried about the situation, which was also raised by the Filipino community.

Filipino workers engaged in a domestic setting, such as a housekeeper working and living with their employer, were particularly exposed because the person who employed them “holds the key” to their work permit, they said.

The GWU suggested work permits should not be issued in the employer’s name but in the employee’s.

The UĦM is seeking better coordination between the ETC and the Employment Directorate. This would ensure that an employment contract, listing the work conditions, would be agreed upon before the work permit was issued.