The lack of recognition of foreign qualifications is a “critical problem” in Malta, forcing asylum seekers and other migrants to undertake employment for which they are overqualified, a report on racism published yesterday revealed.
“When I informally asked about getting my qualifications recognised, they told me that it’s impossible, and that here one needs a Maltese licence to work in the sector related to my studies,” a 33-year-old male migrant from Ivory Coast is quoted as saying. “So I didn’t even try.”
Titled ‘Racism and related discriminatory practices in employment in Malta’, the report was drawn up by The People for Change Foundation and presented to the European Network against Racism (ENAR).
ENAR used the Malta report as well as those of other European countries to compile its 2012-2013 report titled ‘Racism and discrimination in employment in Europe’, which was also published yesterday.
ENAR says that in most EU member states, foreign qualifications need to be recognised by a specific institution. The process of recognition is often very lengthy and burdensome, especially when a diploma is obtained outside the EU.
“Far too frequently, the inability to have previous skills and qualifications from abroad recognised in Europe results in preventing whole populations of migrants from being able to access the labour market.”
Malta is flagged as one of the countries where this problem contributes to underemployment experienced by migrants and asylum seekers. Underemployment refers to the situation in which an individual carries out a job for which he or she is overqualified. According to the Malta report, there is an underlying assumption that migrants’ capabilities are limited to certain jobs, an attitude which is often coupled with a charity instinct of thinking that “at least they’re doing something and earning something”.
The report notes that some employers had to undergo a learning process in order to overcome the assumption that migrants could not work legally, and that all migrants were unskilled and did not make good employees.
This has been a long process and one that remains ongoing – however, “one can see a change in mentality applicable to both employers and the overall population whereby the employment of irregular migrants is now more accepted”.
Even so, the report points out, rhetoric about migrants taking the jobs of the Maltese (often as a way of fostering anti-migration sentiments) remains widespread.
Moreover, discrimination in this context often varies depending on the nationality of the specific migrant. Anecdotal evidence indicates that a good number of eastern European nationals have successfully found jobs in the restaurant industry, while the same cannot be said for migrants from Africa.
Due to discrimination in accessing employment, people who have been through the asylum process are over-represented in the informal economy, “where exploitation and discrimination are rampant”. Exploitation within this sphere takes a number of forms, including the payment of salaries well below the minimum wage, and failure to abide by health and safety standards.
Migrants face a number of challenges to acquire licences which are required for legal and regulated employment, including lack of information on the application process, the less accessible location of the ETC employment licensing section, the language of the application form and the problem of the application fee, which costs €58.
“This needs to be seen within the context of asylum seekers having recently left detention, and often living on a very low allowance which is provided to them in order to cater for their reception and subsistence needs.”
Migrant workers often face a glass ceiling, finding it virtually impossible to move up from the “dirty, dangerous and degrading” job levels, despite their skills and experience.
The report calls upon the authorities to update, adopt and implement without delay the National Action Plan Against Racism and Xenophobia commissioned by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. It also calls upon the authorities to ensure that the NCPE is independent and impartial so cases of racial discrimination are efficiently and effectively addressed.