The social partners convened for an MCESD meeting to discuss the outcomes of the first year of the Labour Migration Policy, which was initially launched in 2025, a government statement said Saturday. The session was attended by Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Work Jonathan Attard and Minister for European Funds, Social Dialogue and Consumer Protection Keith Azzopardi Tanti, alongside key agency representatives and social partners.
During the meeting, Minister Attard described the inaugural year of the policy as positive. He emphasized that the government's approach is designed to ensure that labour migration goes beyond simply addressing worker quantity, focusing instead on bringing in the specific skills and workers truly needed by the country. He noted the ongoing shift toward a sustainable, evidence-based model aligned with real labour market demands, coupled with continued investment in upskilling and reskilling local workers. Furthermore, he highlighted the vital role of employment stability, effective enforcement, and compliance in guaranteeing fairer conditions for employers and stronger protections for employees.
Updates on the practical impacts of the policy were delivered by Identity Malta CEO Colonel Edric Zahra and Graziella Cauchi from Jobsplus. They outlined how the new measures have successfully improved market compliance, employment stability, and worker integration while better pairing market needs with necessary skill sets. Several key measures introduced over the past year were highlighted, including regulations on termination rates, salary payment methods, job vacancy notifications, worker application limits, updated lists of skills-specific occupations, revised fees, renewal timeframes, and foreign worker integration initiatives.
Other notable developments included an increase in applications for Secondary Employment Licences, enabling third-country nationals already in employment to take on part-time work of up to 20 hours per week, and the introduction of a monthly Labour Market Test for employers. Additionally, the healthcare and care sector benefited from reduced tariffs tailored for qualified professionals and workers providing direct care to senior citizens and individuals with disabilities.
Minister Azzopardi Tanti welcomed the positive feedback from social partners regarding the early achievements of the policy, stressing the necessity of continuous dialogue to adapt the framework to current and future economic realities. MCESD Chairperson Maria Micallef noted the unanimous agreement among social partners that the policy has been managed effectively and is already generating tangible benefits, even though opportunities for further refinement remain.
Discussions also focused on upcoming priorities. These include ongoing policy development through stakeholder consultation, evaluating exemptions related to termination quotas, creating a more harmonized permit validity system that rewards compliance and worker retention, differentiating clearly between administrative and compliance fees, reforming family reunification frameworks, and adjusting tariff structures.
The collaborative effort on the Labour Migration Policy will continue through systematic reviews and social dialogue to maintain a balanced framework that serves market needs while prioritizing worker protection and social integration, the statement said.