Some 3,000 employment irregularities were uncovered in restaurants and cafes in tourist hotspots as part of a government clampdown over the past two years.
Employment and Training Corporation inspectors found 2,958 employment infringements in catering establishments, all of them in Buġibba and St Julian’s.
A breakdown of the irregularities, a list of which was seen by the Times of Malta, shows that the majority, 1,479, consisted of unregistered “international” workers.
The figure is an increase over last year, when 700 foreign nationals were caught working illegally during surprise inspections – a fivefold increase over 2013.
Mario Xuereb, who heads the ETC’s employment division, said the catering sector was one of the main offenders when it came to employment irregularities involving foreigners.
He said that while EU nationals did not need an employment licence to work in Malta, they did have to apply for work endorsement documentation. Many, however, were unaware of this and thought they could simply set foot on the island and start working.
One of the main irregularities discovered were employees who were registered as unemployed but working illegally
Third country nationals, on the other hand, had to apply for a number of permits before being allowed to work on the island. “Many people see foreigners and think we are being inundated with them. But you have to keep in mind that many have the right to work here. Identifying the ones that do and don’t takes time and effort,” he said. The ETC conducted hundreds of inspections every year, with surprise visits happening every day.
The breakdown of findings yielded positive results when it came to the illegal employment of minors, with no cases uncovered so far this year.
Last year, there was only one case, compared to 12 in 2013 and 20 in 2010.
Mr Xuereb said one of the main irregularities discovered were employees who were registered as unemployed but working illegally. He said that a handful of people receiving benefits while working illegally were rounded up every few weeks.
The irregularities traced indicate that the number of such cases dropped by half in recent years. While about 70 cases were traced every year before 2013, only 34 benefit abusers were found at work this year.
Mr Xuereb said the ETC was also busy keeping up with its employment infringement hotline. The corporation received nearly 400 reports of workplace illegalities via telephone this year.
Mr Xuereb was quick to add that these did not necessarily lead to infringements; in fact, just 79 resulted in actual irregularities.