A director of a Chinese factory investigated over human trafficking and worker exploitation yesterday declined to comment on reports that employees had part of their income deducted to cover certain expenses, leaving them little cash in hand.

Han Bin, the director of Leisure Clothing Limited, which employs about 260 workers, has been on police bail since last week but is denying any wrongdoing.

An industrial relations expert said that under Maltese law employers were forbidden to deduct part of the wage, even to cover expenses.

We have been here for 27 years and though we are not perfect we have always tried to abide by the law and treat employees well

“Employment law does not even allow an employee to enter into an agreement for the deduction of wages except in very specific circumstances (as in the case of internal disciplinary procedures),” Andrew Borg Cardona said.

Mr Han yesterday broke his silence when a Times of Malta journalist visited the factory at the Bulebel industrial estate to get his reaction.

The Nationalist Party’s weekly Il-Mument reported that Asian workers were being conned into accepting attractive jobs in Malta, only to end up working in appalling conditions for long hours in breach of the minimum employment standards.

The employees were being left with about €150 to spend as a large chunk of their income was being deducted to cover their accommodation, the newspaper said. Denying such allegations, Mr Han said the firm was seeking legal advice on what action to take against the PN’s media.

Last August, three Vietnamese workers who, a month before, were detained while trying to flee the country with counterfeit documents, initiated proceedings for non-payment of wages, bonuses, weekly allowances, overtime and outstanding vacation leave.

The amounts claimed are in excess of €15,000 each.

Asked for his reaction on this case Mr Han declined to comment and referred this newspaper to his lawyer, Pio Valletta, who deemed the claims made by the Vietnamese nationals as being unjustified.

Touching on the allegations of human trafficking, Dr Valletta said there was no evidence of forced labour, violence, threats or any other circumstances mentioned in the section of the Criminal Code that refers to such crime.

In 2012, Labour MP Leo Brincat had tabled a parliamentary question on allegations that employees were being forced to work long hours. At the time, the government had said no work activity had been noticed when an inspection was carried out at night.

Similar claims on substandard working conditions had surfaced in 2007 and 2009 when inspections had found no evidence of irregularities.

“We have been here for 27 years and though we are not perfect we have always tried to abide by the law and treat employees well,” Mr Han said, adding that, in some cases, the EU allowed a 60-hour week. He did not elaborate.

“The clothing manufacturing industry is very special because, sometimes, our production line slows down due to delays in the supply of raw material and, therefore, we have to pay employees even if they have very little to do. However, when the material arrives we have to compensate for the time lost as we have strict deadlines within which to deliver our products and, so, employees have to do extra hours. When this happens, we abide by the collective agreement signed with the General Workers’ Unions, which says that employees are either paid overtime or given time off in lieu.”

What the law says about human trafficking

Human trafficking falls under section 248 of the Criminal Code, which says that:

Whosoever, by any of the following means: (violence or threats; abduction; deceit or fraud; misuse of authority, influence or pressure; the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of the person having control over another person; abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability), traffics a person of age for the purpose of exploiting that person in the production of goods or provision of services; slavery or practices similar to slavery; servitude or forced labour; activities associated with begging; or any other unlawful activities not specifically provided for elsewhere under this sub-title, shall, on conviction, be liable to the punishment of imprisonment from four to twelve years.

For the purposes of this sub-article, exploitation includes requiring a person to produce goods and provide services under conditions and in circumstances which infringe labour standards governing working conditions, salaries and health and safety.

The consent of a victim of trafficking to the exploitation, whether intended or actual, shall be irrelevant where any of the means referred to has been used.