With just one sitting left before Tuesday’s final vote on Smart City, the Opposition is still concerned about the blanket permission Smart City will be given to get in any work-force from third countries with automatic work permits.

This point was made by Opposition spokesmen at the preliminary parliamentary committee sittings as well as in plenary last week and will be made more explicit through amendments the Opposition will move on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Opposition spokesman Leo Brincat made it clear the party is not against Smart City getting foreigners in to do specialised work which no Maltese can do, nor is it against Smart City employing foreigners in those areas of expertise where there are not enough Maltese to meet demand.

Its only objection concerns the jobs at the low end of the scale which can easily be filled by Maltese and of which there is a sufficient number on the local labour market.

Obviously, this objection regards third-country nationals since EU citizens are regulated by European laws of mobility of labour.

Another Opposition amendment would like to remove any transfer of a company already operating in Malta to Smart City from forming part of the job targets laid down in the contract.