The recent Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) conference struck a very strong chord Malta is becoming significantly reliant on third-country nationals (TCNs) in the catering sector, and that failure to replace them would put the future of the sector in grave danger.
During a panel discussion on the topic of “TCNs – A true solution for the catering industry?” the main stakeholders exposed some of the challenges and the opportunities that could surface in the future especially considering the role of TCNs in the Malta catering sector.
Knowing the Dependence of the Industry.
Sector leaders such as Pierre Fenech, the CEO of the Institute of Tourism Studies, stressed the point that the industry has expanded exponentially in the last few years. Based on his calculations, in the best case scenarios, the local production of the trained graduates (approximately 700/annum) may not be sufficient to fill the anticipated demand. Members of the ACE agreed with him, and according to one of the business owners, in the event that the TCNs left the country, there would be no industry especially because Malta’s catering market is a labour intensive industry and the role of TCNs is very crucial.
Daniel Coppini who represented the recruitment industry and is a board member of AFTA and Managing Partner with Recruit in Malta provided a critical opinion. He pointed out that decades of short term thinking has resulted in a bloated number of unregulated employees, as well as a system which was really compromised and very regrettably also abusive at the same time.
Nevertheless, he admitted that there is positive change in progress. Coppini was complimentary in lauding the new Malta Migration Policy initiatives, particularly the increased restriction of rules on temporary staffing agencies, which he argued has rid the industry of approximately 90% of unscrupulous players (so-called “cowboys”).
Administrative delays are still one of the greatest challenges despite improvement. The agency that handles immigration processing, Identita, cited wrongly filed documentation and stringent due-diligence investigations as some of the reasons behind backlog.
One of the issues Coppini expressed a strong concern in relates to the delay of renewal, with some TCNs taking more than three months to acquire ID cards once they submit their biometric data. He also cautioned that unless the system in Malta would be resurrected, the much needed workers might be tempted to go to other European markets such as Spain and Portugal.
A key issue in the conference was the introduction of a Skills Pass on non-EU workers, which is a prerequisite of minimum competency. In the early days the failure rates were nearly 50% but with time they have been brought down thus indicating that the pass is allowing them to eliminate the applicants and increase the quality of those who are applying. By January, approximately 5,000 non-EU employees had obtained it. Nonetheless, sector leaders believe that it requires further policing – particularly to eliminate administrative lag and facilitate renewals.
Other than adhering to the law, panellists emphasised that TCN workers should be treated with dignity. According to one of the ACE members, our people are the soul of our business, we should respect them, pay them well, and make them integrated. This was the same sentiment that was expressed by Daniel Coppini: retention should be accompanied by fair and consistent treatment. Even the most effective policy frameworks are not going to work without predictability of the renewals and the ability to integrate properly.
It is not only the restaurants and hotels that are affected by the discussion at the ACE conference, but also the labour strategy, migration policy long term economic vision of Malta. Having one of the lowest fertility rates and the low ability to provide its own workforce, Malta cannot possibly afford to simply depend on Maltese nationals to provide the labor force in one of its most vibrant industries.
Recruit in Malta is fully committed to laying this discussion not only in the catering field, but in the policymaking arenas. Under the leadership of Daniel Coppini, we support:
Sustainable, inclusive labour model is not only the morally right way to go, but the best business way to go.
You can contact us in case you want to help in this endeavour, to work together or just know more. Jointly we may be able to create a stronger and more equal future of the catering industry in Malta.
