Giving migrants a work permit would be a boon for them and the construction industry, according to the president of the Malta Developers Association.
Sandro Chetcuti said migrants should have their situation regularised to ensure they are recruited legally by construction firms that cannot find Maltese willing to do certain jobs.
Mr Chetcuti said legal employment would ensure migrants were not abused at the work place.
His comments are an indication the construction industry is willing to play ball as the government plans to have a job brokerage office to handle the employment of migrants in an orderly manner.
Mr Chetcuti said regularisation would not only ensure migrants received decent pay but also enable them to pay taxes. Their rights and those of their employer would be better protected.
Industry players who want to go by the book end up at the losing end
The authorities are in the process of issuing a call for tenders for the creation of a brokerage office in an attempt to clamp down on what Prime Minister Joseph Muscat once called a modern “slave market” at Marsa.
Migrants gather every day along the main thoroughfare in Marsa as they wait for prospective employers to pick them up for odd jobs. Most are recruited for temporary manual work in the construction sector, and the negotiating is normally done in the road.
The MDA president said very few Maltese were willing to perform labour-intensive jobs, which was why some in the industry abusively resorted to picking up migrants from the streets of Marsa.
“Industry players who want to go by the book end up at the losing end, as others abusively pick migrants off the street, with all the consequences this can have,” he said.
Mr Chetcuti said the proposal to regularise the situation of migrants in the job market would be welcomed not only by those in the construction industry but also by other companies that offer labour-intensive jobs.
“Migrants should be able to follow courses so that they may obtain the skills card, and in this way they will integrate better in society,” he added.
When speaking of the brokerage office last month at a meeting with the MDA, Dr Muscat said the office would do away with the current practice that sees migrants loitering at roundabouts.
“At the job brokerage office, employers will be able to acquire the services of migrants in a regulated fashion, so that they will not be abused and at the same time will not undermine the quality of jobs of Maltese workers,” Dr Muscat said.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com