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MALTAJean-Pierre Gauci183

Migration TrendsWhile immigration has been a part of the Maltese reality for centuries, since 2002 Malta has seen an increase in the number of migrants arriving to its shores on weathered boats, the vast majority of them seeking asylum. These arrivals have gone side by side with the arrival of other migrants, both from within the European Union (EU) and of third-country nationals who come to Malta seeking work.

The total population of Malta has practically doubled over the past century, and today Malta is a country with the highest population density in Europe. There were 413,609 residents, including 4.4 per cent of foreign nationals at the end of 2008 (Population and Housing Census).

The Malta Demographic Review defines immigration as the action by which a natural person establishes his or her usual residence in Malta for a period that is or is expected to last a minimum of 12 months. According to this definition, the total migrant population in Malta at the end of 2008 stood at little over 18,000 (Figure 1).

Among Maltese nationals, there is a consistently slightly higher share of females. At the same time, there were more female foreigners in the country in 2001-2006, but afterwards the trend was reversed with migrant men comprising 52.9 per cent of the total foreign population (Figure 2). The majority of irregular migrants is also assumed to be male.

183 Jean-Pierre Gauci is a Director of the People for Change Foundation. The report is based mainly on desk research and some qualitative interviews. Experiences collected by the People for Change Foundation for other purposes have also informed the drafting of this report.

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Figure 1: Population of Malta, 2001-2008

Source: Malta Demographic Reviews 2001-2008.

Figure 2: Migrant population by gender, percentage, 2001-2008

Source: Malta Demographic Reviews 2001-2008.

Furthermore, the majority of migrants are of working age. In particular, foreigners aged 25-49 years accounted for 47 per cent of new arrivals in 2008.

Figure 3: Arrivals by gender and age group, 2008

Source: Malta Demographic Reviews 2001-2008.

450,000

400,000

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

Migrant Population

Maltese Population

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

9,564

385,077

10,358

386,938

11,000

388,867

11,999

390,669

12,446

392,560

13,877

393,933

15,460

394,830

18,137

395,472

4,0003,500

3,0002,500

2,0001,5001,0005000

Females

Males

0-17 18-24 25-49 50-64 65+

437

436

580

1,120

1,557

2,133

507

569

241

275

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.010.0

0.0

Migrant - Male %

Migrant - Female %

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

45.4

54.6

46.9

53.1

47.0

53.0

47.2

52.8

47.6

52.4

51.5

48.5

52.4

47.6

52.9

47.1

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Contrary to popular belief, the majority of migrants (57%) arriving in Malta are from the EU. The remaining 43 per cent do not only constitute asylum-seekers, but also other third-country nationals, including from countries such as the United States. Almost half (48.3%) of the EU migrants are women, but among third-country nationals men are predominant with 65.8 per cent. The prevalence of young males hailing from the third countries is striking (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Distribution of migrants by age, gender and origin, 2008

Source: Malta Demographic Reviews 2001-2008.

Of the third-country nationals arriving in 2008, just over 80 per cent (2,775 persons) entered irregularly, which was the highest number of irregular arrivals in the past decade. However, the inflow of irregular entrants dropped again to 1,475 persons in 2009 (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Irregular entry in Malta, 2002-2009

Source: Maria Pisani, 2010.

4,0003,500

3,0002,500

2,0001,5001,000

5000

Females TC

Females EU

0-17 18-24 25-49 50-64 65+

173

264

227

353

671

886

65

442

9

232

Males TC

Males EU

208

228

802

318

1,075

1,058

95

474

22

253

1,686

502

1,388

1,822 1,780 1,702

2,775

1,475

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

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Most irregularly arriving migrants seek asylum, thereby regularizing their stay in Malta. The irregular migrant population in Malta consists of rejected asylum-seekers and visa overstayers. It should be noted that rejected asylum-seekers receive an ID card and are also entitled, provided that certain conditions are met, to a work permit. They therefore cannot be categorized as undocumented migrants. Overstayers, on the other hand, work in the informal economy and the extent of their presence remains largely unknown to the authorities. As a result, although it is believed that many such migrants are involved in the labour market, their contribution to the economy of Malta as well as their labour market experience is impossible to assess.

Labour Market ImpactPopulation projections for Maltese citizens in 2050 forecast that the working population aged 15-64 would decrease by 16 per cent, and expect the population aged over 65 to grow by 81 per cent. This calls for a revision of Malta’s migration policy in order to ensure a sustainable activity rate for future economic growth.

The Maltese economy had to grapple with the effects of a global economic slowdown around 2000, and continued to experience relatively mild growth until 2004. A significant recovery was registered between 2005 and 2007, when real economic growth averaged around 3.5 per cent per annum. The Maltese economy slowed down significantly in 2009, as an evidence of its pronounced openness, and entered recession in 2009. The sectors of activity that were immediately hit included mainly manufacturing, such as suppliers to the automotive industry and producers of electronic goods; and tourism.

In the past decade, the services sector gained increased prominence in the Maltese economy, and continued to employ the majority of migrants (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Sectoral employment of migrants, 2004-2009

Source: Employment and Training Corporation, Malta.

Although official data for migrant labour in construction belies the common belief that this sector is the largest employer of foreigners in Malta, it is also the sector where undeclared work is rampant. The Maltese Labour Force Survey for the third quarter

7,0006,000

5,0004,000

3,0002,0001,000

500

Agriculture etc

Industry

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

7

656

7

965

14

1,939

15

1,964

6

1,423

Services 2,349 2,414 4,309 4,773 5,522

7

2,286

6,170

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of 2009 indicates trends towards gender segregation in certain economic activities. Men dominate in construction and manufacturing, and a high share of female workers is observed in education, healthcare and social work.

Clear distinctions can be drawn between different categories of migrants in the context of sectoral distribution (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Sectoral distribution of migrants (1) by nationality, 2009

Source: Employment and Training Corporation.(1) Humanitarian migrants and other migrants.*Ref/AS/SP stands for ‘refugees, asylum-seekers, subsidiary protection’.

In seeking to provide a rough estimate, Debono and Farrugia (2007) quote a discrepancy of 8.7 per cent184 between the labour force survey and administrative data for 2006. It is a widely held belief that the main sectors affected by such work are construction-related trades and domestic and personal services.185 Women are considered to be more likely to engage in irregular work, a situation which Debono and Farrugia (2007) argue is influenced by the rigidity of Malta’s employment legislation and organizational cultures.

Migrant workers that are adequately integrated into the Maltese labour market can provide the supplementary workforce that is required in order to maintain and possibly increase Malta’s productivity. However, concerns arise with regard to the pertinence of the current public policy discourse in Malta that only address regular migration as potentially beneficial for the economy, without attempts to utilize the currently irregular migrant labour to fill the labour force shortages by widening the avenues for legal work by foreigners.

Overall, the employment rate in Malta remains relatively low at 55 per cent in 2008. The gender pay gap and gender employment gap are considerable, with the male employment rate averaging 72.5 per cent compared with 37.4 per cent for women (EC, 2009).

Among migrants, female non-EU nationals have the lowest number of employment licences. The majority of employment licence-holders are male EU citizens, which are closely followed by male third-country nationals (Figure 8).

184 It is interesting to note that the statistic varies considerably between females and males (12.7% and 6.8% respectively). This is also a reflection of the extent of undeclared work in the domestic services sphere, a sector largely characterised by female workers who, in most cases, are not enrolled within the formal labour market.

185 As reflected also in the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2013.

Agriculture etc EU

Industry etc EU

Services etc EU

Services etc Ref/AS/SP

Services etc TCN

Industry etc Ref/AS/SP

Industry etc TCN

Agriculture etc Refugee

Agriculture etc TCN

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Figure 8: Migrants with active employment licences, 2004-2009

Source: Employment and Training Corporation.*Ref/AS/SP stands for ‘refugees, asylum-seekers, subsidiary protection’.

Looking at general employment rates by educational level186 one can notice that the employment rate for persons with a tertiary level of education is significantly higher than those with lower levels of educational attainment. This reflects well for highly-skilled migrants, but also implies a greater degree of competition in terms of labour market access for irregular immigrants who often have not attained tertiary education, or find it difficult to prove this and have their level of education duly recognized and accredited (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Holders of employment licences by level of skill, 2004-2009

Source: Employment and Training Corporation.

186 This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of employed people within the 25-64 age group having attained a specific level of education, by the total population of the same age group. Level is coded according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED, 1997)

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Male EU

Male Ref/AS/SP

799

55

886

384

1,846

740

2,160

855

2,241

1,097

Male TCN

Female EU

1,254

455

1,450

485

2,478

991

2,112

1,224

1,667

1,484

Female Ref/AS/SP

Female TCN

11

479

62

449

61

724

118

761

116

828

2,560

1,374

2,455

1,574

179

973

Num

ber o

f peo

ple

Low-skilled

Skilled

904

796

1,662

1,503

2,607

3,076

2,531

3,320

1,426

2,885

Highly Skilled

Open Permit

33

0

221

330

579

578

901

478

2,640

482

2,901

4,034

1,528

652

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

Num

ber o

f peo

ple

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

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There is very little hard evidence on the wages of migrant workers. However, anecdotal evidence on the situation of persons who have been through the asylum system indicates that they are paid much less, and very often up to half of what their Maltese counterparts are paid for the same work. No data is available with regard to European and Asian workers although, especially for the latter, there is reason to believe that their situation is similar to that of sub-Saharan Africans.

In 2008, the General Retailers and Traders Union187 sent a formal complaint to the Maltese government describing as unacceptable the “situation revolving around employment and migrants”. In a statement, it acknowledged that a number of its members (mainly small- and medium-sized enterprises) in construction, repairs, and especially in the waste management sector depend highly on migrant labour. They proposed that the informal temporary work system be regularized in order to create what they see as win-win solution for employers and migrants seeking work.

References

Council of the European Union2000 Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32000L0043:en:HTML2003 Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003L0086:EN:HTML

EURES Malta/Employment and Training Corporation 2009 Living and Working in Malta, https: //www.eures.com.mt /HomeDir/Documents/Living%20and%20Working%20

Report%202009.pdf

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)2008 Third Report on Malta, 29 April, Strasbourg, http://www.mjha.gov.mt/downloads/documents/ecri_report.pdf

European Employment Observatory (Debono, M. and C. Farrugia) 2007 Undeclared Work from SYSDEM Correspondent, available at: http://www.eu-employment-

observatory.net/resources/reviews/NationalArticles/MaltaUDW2007.pdf

Eurostat2009 Eurobarometer 317, Discrimination in the EU, 2009, Results for Malta, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_317_fact_mt_en.pdf2010 Eurobarometer 70, Public Opinion in the European Union, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb70/eb70_full_en.pdf

General Workers’ Union2008 Migrant Workers, http://www.gwu.org.mt/documents/Migrants_Workers_Paper_110908.pdf

Niessen, J. et al.2007 Migration Integration Policy Index, Migration Policy Group, Brussels

Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications2005 National Reform Programme: Malta’s strategy for growth and jobs, La Valletta.

http://www.meu.gov.mt/files/Final%20NRP%20Malta.pdf

187 For more information see www.grtu.net

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Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family2008 National Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008-2010, La Valletta.

http://www.msp.gov.mt/documents/msp/nap_inc_2008_2010.pdf

National Commission for the Promotion of Equality2007 Racial and Ethnic Origin Equality Manual Toolkit, Gattard House, Bajda.

http://www.equality.gov.mt/filebank/Racial%20and%20Ethnic%20Origin%20Equality%20Manual_Toolkit.pdf

Office of the Prime Minister (Malta) 2006 Malta National Reform Programme, Addressing the Lisbon Strategy, Annual Progress Report 2006.

Cabinet Committee on Competitiveness, Management Efficiency Unit, La Valletta.

Maltese Legislation

Laws available at: http://justiceservices.gov.mt/lom.aspx?pageid=24 Constitution of Malta Chapter 12 of the Laws of Malta Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure Chapter 55 of the Laws of Malta Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Act Chapter 217 of the Laws of Malta Immigration Act Chapter 363 of the Laws of Malta Local Councils Act Chapter 420 of the Laws of Malta Refugee Act Chapter 464 of the Laws of Malta Healthcare Professions Act

Legal Notices available at: http://justiceservices.gov.mt/LegalPublications.aspx?pageid=32&type=42002 Legal Notice 259 of 2002, Migrant Workers (Child Education) Regulations.2004 Legal Notice 461 of 2004, Equal Treatment in Employment Regulations.2005 Legal Notice 320 of 2005, Reception of Asylum Seekers (Minimum Standards) Regulations.2006 Legal Notice 278 of 2006, Status of Long-Term Residents (Third Country Nationals)

Regulations2007 Legal Notice 150 of 2007, Family Reunification Regulations2008 Legal Notice 29 of 2008 which transposes Council Directive 2004/11/EC, Conditions of

Admission of Third Country Nationals for the Purposes of Studies Regulations.2008 Legal Notice 243 of 2008, Procedural Standards in Examining Applications for Refugee

Status Regulations.2009 Legal Notice 205 of 2009, Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers Regulations2010 Legal notice 370 of 2010, Status of Long-term Residents (Third Country Nationals)

(Amendment) Regulations.

Websites of Governmental and other Institutions

Employment and Training Corporation, http://www.etc.gov.mt

EURES Malta, https://www.eures.com.mt

Malta Department of Information, http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/ministries_and_departments/portfolio08.asp

Malta Qualifications Council, http://www.mqc.gov.mt/home

Migration Integration Policy Index Malta, http://www.integrationindex.eu/topics/2458.html

National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, http://www.equality.gov.mt/

Malta Chamber of SMEs, www.grtu.net

The People for Change Foundation, www.pfcmalta.org