People looking for a job in Gozo are giving their personal details to an official in Victoria to get some “help” learning about employment opportunities, the ministry has confirmed.

A petition expressing concern over this practice has been doing the rounds on the internet. It follows a report in the PN media saying the Gozo Ministry had a list of names of those interested in working at the new Lidl store set to open in Xewkija in a few months’ time.

Organisers of the petition say the practice may lead to political discrimination and they are threatening to boycott the company.

The Gozo Ministry yesterday told Times of Malta that “it does not intervene in the selection of people wishing to work at Lidl in Gozo”. However a question about whether the ministry had passed on a list of names to Lidl Malta remained unanswered.

Contacted later, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo said he felt duty bound to “help” unemployed people by highlighting job opportunities in Gozo.

“Unfortunately there are still sections of the Gozitan community who know very little about the internet, job opportunities from newspapers and the ETC office in Gozo,” said Dr Refalo.

When it was suggested to Dr Refalo that people known for their Nationalist leanings might feel uneasy about such an arrangement, he insisted the ministry had no say in the selection process.

“I can assure you that we are not exerting any political pressure on employers seeking new recruits,” he said.

The petition, on Facebook, calls for Lidl’s mother company in Germany to stop this “discriminatory and illegal” practice allegedly being adopted by the Gozo Ministry, while threatening to boycott Lidl stores in Malta.

However in a statement released on Tuesday Lidl Malta dismissed such claims, saying that as an equal opportunities employer all available positions were published on its website.

It added that so far only those who had applied through the ETC had been interviewed and a recruitment open day scheduled for later this month would be advertised in the media.