Pan-European Conference – Work: a Tool for Inclusion or a reason for Exclusion ?

1. Pan-European Conference – Work: a Tool for Inclusion or a reason for Exclusion ? Experts Meeting 6 November 2012 Robert Suban & Dr David Zammit IOM Project funded by European Integration Fund

2. Presentation Outline • Objectives of Study • Malta’s Context • Sources of Discrimination: Access to work • Sources of Discrimination: Workplace • Sources of Discrimination: Other • Comments on the Assessment Questionnaires • Other points to consider • Dr Zammit’s related work

3. Objectives of Study (1) • Support Maltese stakeholders • Sharing knowledge and experience on TCN integration policies and best practices developed and implemented in other EU countries • Assess which practices can be implemented locally and how • Maltese input will focus on combating discrimination in employment including access to work and workplace discrimination

4. Objectives of Study (2) • Study will try to answer following questions: • Which policies and practices are effective in fighting against recruitment and workplace discrimination of TCNs • How are employers being prepared to manage a multicultural workforce ? • What is being done to promote access to information for TCNs and employers alike ? • Are there any networks that TCNs could access to get any help ? • What is being done in the area of recognition of qualifications ? • What support is provided to SMEs in all activities above-mentioned ?

5. Malta’s Context (1) • Since the beginning of the century, Malta’s migration policy has been dominated by the arrival of irregular migrants and its repeated calls for “burden sharing” • In this context, no real initiatives have been taken to promote integration of TCN migrants • Integration policies could be viewed as contradictory thus undermining strength of calls for “burden sharing”

6. Malta’s Context (2) • What type of migration do we have ? • Low-skilled jobs (usually taken up irregular migrants) • High-skilled jobs related to certain specific industries (financial services, i-gaming, ICT, pharmaceutical industry, aircraft maintenance, etc.) (taken up by EU or TCNs) • Seasonal workers for the tourism sector (taken up by irregular migrants and EU)

7. Malta’s Context (3) Source: European Commission 2012 Maltese SMEs employ an average of 2.5 persons (EU average 4.3). Malta is the only country in the EU where the share of micro enterprises (entities which employ less than 10 employees) exceeds the EU average. The Maltese Chamber of SMEs regularly protests on the excessive levels of bureaucracy that SMES have to contend with.

8. Malta’s Context (4) • As an EU member state, Malta has to abide by the principle of Community preference: • Pecking order of migrants vis-a-vis labour market access: • EU, EEA, Swiss • Refugees • Temporary Humanitarian Protection • Asylum Seekers • TCNs who are married/partners of Maltese/EU • TCNs (last resort when vacancies cannot be filled by anyone in categories above)

9. Malta’s Context (5) Source: ETC EU,EEA, Swiss migrants and Refugees, THPs, and Asylum seekers have increased at the expense of TCNs TCNs originate from a large number of countries

10. Malta’s Context (6) Source: NSO Migrant population has been steadily increasing since accession but total migrant population is still less than 5% of total population

11. Malta’s Context (7) Irregular entry in Malta 2002-2009 Source: Refugee Commissioner Holders of Work Permits by skill level Source: ETC

12. Sources of Discrimination: Access to Work

13. Sources of Discrimination: Workplace

14. Sources of Discrimination: Other

15. Some Comments on the Assessment Questionnaires • Feedback principally from NGOs • Are Labour related laws being enforced ? • What are the penalties if laws are not adhered to ? • Need for greater access to information about rights and obligations for both employees and employers (very important given that most are SMES) • Need to develop policies to facilitate diversity and intercultural training and awareness for employers/employees at workplace • Need to review recruitment processes on a regular basis to remove any possible direct or indirect discrimination • More information is needed on the redress system • Possibility of mobility of TCNs especially when there is a labour related breach/abuse • Need to improve system for providing feedback to policy makers on areas of discrimination

16. Other Points to consider (1) • Do our TCNs really want to integrate ? • For highly skilled probably not given that our labour market is too small to offer enough opportunities • Problem of partner/spouse possibility of working • Some of the tax advantages only apply for a limited period (New high net worth scheme) • Other EU countries are offering better conditions than Malta in the long-term

17. Other Points to consider (2) • Do the Maltese Authorities really want to integrate TCNs ? • They are making an effort at attracting highly skilled workers whether EU or not • But in the case of TCNs, policies are so restrictive as to make it virtually impossible to get LTR status • For example: the tax advantages of the new high net worth scheme only apply for a limited period (less than 5 years) • The Authorities have failed to recognize that Malta will need migrants and that in order to overcome certain disadvantages it needs to become more attractive compared to other EU countries

18. Report Prepared for IOM in context of Consultative Assessment on the Integration of Third Country Nationals • Coordinated by David Zammit • Concluded in September 2012 • Used anthropological approach • Focus on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders/third country nationals • Highlighted the way informal integration “policies” for TCNs are developed in the absence of a national policy • Looked at the experiences of TCNs in Malta in relation to work/ accommodation/law/culture/living in general

19. Main finding: importance of legal status • Third Country nationals experience the administrative rules and processes through which their legal status is negotiated and defined as obscure, arbitrary, complex and discretionary. This reflects real features of the system, which appears initially to be transparently simple but actually has various inbuilt features which are can be employed to restrict access to the benefits of citizenship and long term status to a deserving few. At the same time, these same features often seem to frame their experience of Maltese society, blending seamlessly with hostile and quasi-racist attitudes of rejection expressed by the grass-roots. Thus, the ethnic background of the TCN becomes less important than the kind of residence permit he/she has and the administrative apparatus through which Migration law is implemented becomes a metaphor for his/her experience of Maltese society as a whole.

20. In relation to work: • An ethnic division of labour prevails (eg Chinese caterers/ Filippino carers / Libyans working for Libyan controlled companies based in Malta/ Russians working in hospitality sector or self employed). • This tends to reflect residence status (example: Chinese tend to be given annual renewable residence permits and therefore cannot easily aspire to perform jobs which require specialised long term training / Russians are often spouses of Maltese nationals and therefore can work without requesting an employment license: so have more career options). • Jobs in IT sector cut across divisions of nationality/ethnicity

21. Perceptions of Discrimination in Work Based on Residence Status: • Serbian who works as a software engineer for an IT company based in Malta but who has an annually renewable residence permit when asked if he feels discriminated against in his job: • “In my job no; except for what I said that if I would change a job or maybe, maybe it’s another issue that with my work permit which always needed visa to go anywhere. So maybe my manager will send me somewhere to...like some fair or some seminar or anything. But I have problems with visa. So basically that thing. I cannot develop personally even in my job and its a huge problem for them. So I’m stuck there. And it’s a huge huge problem, you know. And only because of the papers, because of the passport. Nothing else.”

22. Croatian works as a tourist guide: • “When I was applying for my work permit I had problems because ETC were saying: ‘okay have you received applications from other EU nationals?’ Okay so why give first preference to others from EU if you have a person who has been living here (in Malta) for so long (fifteen years) and they have the qualifications that they need. Why can’t that person be given the opportunity to have a work permit? Why must you look for somebody from EU? And it’s always like that.”

23. Discrimination alleged: • In granting residence status/employment license (requirements change according to nationality/kind of job applied for) • Delays in processing applications for residence status/employment license for certain groups/kinds of jobs: problem of unkown “stakeholders” who must be consulted • Kind of status granted also perceived to vary according to nationality: eg Residence permit renewed for 6 months instead of 1 year • A tendency to interrupt annual renewals reported in relation to certain nationalities meaning they cannot qualify for long-term residence status

24. Chinese TCN complaining that unlike other nationalities her employment license / residence permit was only renewed for 6 months: • “For the students of Korean or Japanese to give the right paper as well… but, if they want to get a visa, it’s very easy for them. But we are Chinese… very difficult.”

25. Discrimination in Workplace and general social life seen as a function of TCN’s ethnic background & their lack of secure residence / employment status • A Philippine TCN observed that in her work as a carer in a Church home other carers who were less qualified than her as they did not have qualifications in nursing often accused her of taking their bread from them as a migrant working in Malta. Moreover the cleaner felt that she could order her around since she was Asian.

26. Discrimination in Social life in General • “I go there and I want to ask the doctor how much I have to pay and the doctor say: okay…come to my office, I tell you how much you need to pay. And then they make me the appointment. I wait for two weeks and then I come to the office. And the doctor only talk to me for two minutes and they give me the price €4,000 for the plastic surgery and then I came out and the Reception charged me €50 and I said. Even the Reception was very surprised. I came out so quick. And the Reception was: oh you finished! And I said: yes I finished. The doctor only asked me which kind of surgery and then he told me to speak to you. And then the Reception said: you want to continue the surgery? And I said: no because it’s too expensive. And the Reception said: okay that’s €50. That’s very…”

27. Problem of Lack of Recognition of Qualifications • Complex procedure as often depends on local stakeholders, such as professional associations • Plagued with delays / Exams not held / Process is informal and discretionary • Restrictive, exclusionary attitude

28. TCN Responses to lack of Recognition: • (1) Temporary withdrawal from the labour market in order to focus on family responsibilities. • (2) Accepting a different kind of employment than the one for which they had qualified, generally with a lower status and pay. • (3) Opening their own business: effectively working as self-employed and using their Maltese/EEA spouse or partner to help them access bank loans and register their businesses. • (4) Finding work with a foreign employer.

29. Or Reinventing One’s Occupation • Another strategy, which deserves particular attention because it highlights the adaptable and entrepreneurial attitude of some of the TCNs, involves branching out into new lines of work and using the educational opportunities available in Malta to train oneself for this purpose. Thus a Turkish English language student transformed himself into an IT industry worker and found a good job in e-gaming after following an IT course at the University of Malta.

30. Complicated Job Trajectories • “In Serbia I change many jobs. I start like hairdresser in room yeah. After that I work like the barman you know. After like waiter. After like pizza meister. How do you say pizza meister? Pizzaiolo. After like driver, truck driver, you know. After like security, door-keeper in private television, you know. After I go in tourism, like you know. I work in hotel like receptionist.”

31. Official Understanding of Integration: Kinship Based & Assimilatory • Enacted in the way laws are interpreted and applied as also in bureaucratic procedures • Influences TCN’s who generally feel excluded and discriminated against even if they have been living and working in Malta for more than a decade • Need for a Maltese Patron (Employer), Spouse or Friend: “if you go by yourself they don’t take you seriously very much in Malta” • Being contested at grass-roots by a more multi-cultural and formal understanding of integration