No mercy should be shown with whoever is responsible for this act, Mr Zarb said, adding that this kind of behaviour should make us reflect on what, he called, the organised slavery that has been going on lately in our country.

Mr Zarb claimed that there have been various incidents in which illegal immigrants have been exploited by contractors. He said that there are cases in which immigrants are employed illegally to carry out a job and then reported by the same employer shortly before the work is finished in order for him not to pay their wages.

He also recalled how he had been threatened, along with other union officials, after having spoken out about this issue in Msida, on Worker’s Day three years ago. “We were threatened with our life for a long time because we spoke about the issue. GWU will keep on speaking about this organised slavery,” the statement concluded.