Social Policy Minister John Dalli today called for more cooperation from employers to combat illegal employment.

"We have problems. From the bureaucratic side it is easy to find excuses not to do something about it, but we have to find a solution to this."

Speaking at a breakfast meeting on the employment of foreign workers, organised by the Malta Employers' Association, Mr Dalli said Malta was suffering an influx of irregular labour because local employers were choosing to offer inferior working conditions, and this pulled people into the labour market. These things, he said, did not happen by chance, and discipline had to start with the employers.

Mr Dalli also spoke on the new practice where calls for tender for public contracts request details on the working conditions of employees. "We cannot have cowboys winning government tenders because they exploit workers. Tenderers have to list working conditions which will be included in the contract and checked. If the working conditions are not observed employers can have termination of a contract apart from other actions." Mr Dalli said.

The minister also announced that he is working on the setting up of a law enforcement unit within his ministry to replace the current system of different enforcement units in the ETC, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and the Labour Office among others.

Many employers who spoke at the meeting complained that it was taking too long for the authorities to issue permits for foreign workers. Furthermore, third country nationals were subjected to various conditions including having private health insurance over and above NI contributions which they were paying. Once a work permit had been granted foreign workers had to apply in person for a residence permit sometimes waiting for six hours in a queue.