Maltese jobs have been lost and others are uncertain as the Libyan conflict threatens to drag on.

“A lot of companies are hanging on to their people in Libya, either trying to redeploy them in their Maltese operation, if they have one, or keeping them on their books,” according to Joe Farrugia, director general of the Malta Employers Association.

“It is not easy to find good redeployments for workers who have been in Libya for a long time because many of these would have built a network of contacts, which is essential.”

Mr Farrugia said it was difficult to say whether Maltese workers had lost their jobs or how many were affected because many worked with foreign companies based in Libya.

Four workers at Medserv, an offshore logistics company, were handed their notice as they were all based in Misurata and could not be redeployed elsewhere, company chairman Anthony Diacono said.

Workers at the Libya offices of the Alberta Group were redeployed to Malta and, according to director Liz Barbaro Sant, the company will resume its operations after the situation has stabilised.

It is understood the Corinthia Group is still running its Libya-based operations on a reduced workforce but that all its Maltese employees are still on the company’s payroll.

According to a Malta Enterprise spokesman, most of the 30 companies it had been in touch with are adopting a “wait and see” approach. Companies, the spokesman said, were affected in varying degrees because not all had a lot staked in the North African country.

The conflict has been a blow to many who owed their prosperity to work in the oil-rich country. Even though he has not lost his job altogether, a man working for a Maltese firm in Libya since 2001 said: “I’m going to earn less than half of what I used to get.” He is set to lose the travel allowances afforded to him because he worked in Libya.

Colleagues of his, who had not been employed directly with the company, were made redundant because they had been contracted only for Libya.

He observed that people who made a good living in Libya doing certain work would find their local employment prospects limited because their skill set was only relevant for oil fields.

Another man who had been working in Libya since 1995 was not hopeful things would get better anytime soon. “Most probably, in a year we will still be in an uncertain situation. Companies will try and recoup their money and then go back to Libya,” the man said.