As of Wednesday, a legal obligation wherein any wages earned by or payable to a third-country national must be paid exclusively through a bank transfer into an account held in the employee's name or via an electronic transfer facilitated by an accredited and licensed financial institution came into force.

This came into force after legislation was passed in Parliament the previous week, with the Labour government saying that this is a key next step in the implementation of the National Labour Migration Policy.

“These measures will further build on the Government's commitment, first launched with the consultation document in January 2025, which places the worker at the centre of labour policy while strengthening transparency, accountability, and enforcement against abuse,” the Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

There is a caveat: the new law will apply only to newly engaged foreign workers from October 2025 onwards, as well as to those changing employment.  Those foreign workers who are already in employment will continue to have the same conditions as existed prior to the implementation of this law.

The Nationalist Party had suggested that the law be widened in scope to include even currently engaged foreign workers, and suggested that the implementation period be adjusted so that the law comes into force in January 2026 in order to give time for employers to be able to adjust – but the suggestions were turned down.

While perhaps it would have been unjust to delay the implementation of this rule until the end of the year for new arrivals, it may have made sense for the law to include a gradual implementation of the same concept for existing foreign workers that would have given employers a period – say three months, or six months perhaps – to be able to adjust their operations to cater for it.

Regardless though, it is a positive law which will no doubt serve to reduce work place abuse.

Also positive on the same topic was news this week that food couriers working with platforms will be unionised and protected by a collective agreement.

Posting on social media this week, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said: "In recent months we have been very firm with regard to platforms such as Bolt and Wolt and those who employ food couriers. We were clear that there is no room for abuse and we even rejected new applications. Even if some criticized us, we stood firm."

"In a recent meeting I was informed that the next step is that every worker in the sector and their platform will be unionized and protected by a collective agreement. This is a positive step. We will continue to insist that in our country there is no room for any abuse and that we maintain a level playing field among all workers. We will remain vigilant," he said.

The food courier industry has been one of the ones most beset and riddled with accusations of unfair labour practices, including in the payment of wages below the minimum wage. Therefore food couriers unionising is a positive step that will once again be a good step towards securing better rights for these workers.

The only thing to put a damper on all of this is the fact that this is reactive legislation.  It comes after thousands of workers in the past years will likely have been abused of and disposed of, with little to no redress for them to seek in such a scenario.

The Labour government knew of Malta’s increasing population and could see the influx of third country nationals coming into the country for work: had this type of legislation been proactively introduced, rather than reactively introduced, then it would have been even more beneficial as it would have set the standard from day 1.