The Prime Minister Dr Robert Abela recently announced that, in an effort at improving the standards of agencies which bring third party nationals to work in Malta, new regulations will soon be introduced. This announcement followed an outcry on mainstream and social media complaining about Malta’s overpopulation and its economic model, based as it is on the rather liberal import of low-income labour. The Prime Minister emphasized the need to regulate and crack down on agencies which exploited the system to workers’ detriment but stated that those legitimate agencies which supplied human resource management solutions in a proper way would be supported.

How these regulations will be distinguish between good and bad agencies and will impact current employment dependences, remains to be seen. What is now in little doubt however is that something must be done to curb any unbridled abuse of the system in a fair, transparent and sustainable manner without throwing iced water on the economy at this sensitive stage of its development. The new rules must therefore be clear, indiscriminate and easy to implement if they are to make any sense.

The law firm will be monitoring developments as they unfold as the regulation will, no doubt, affect several local businesses whose operations are today largely dependent on third party nationals for their growth and profitability.

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