24 organisations warned that Budget 2027 represents a "shocking leap towards a country that officially segregates people on the basis of their nationality," condemning measures targeting third-country nationals as an attack on workers who have helped sustain Malta's economy but have little political power to defend their rights.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the organisations said the Budget was characterised by both measures and discourse that unfairly target foreign workers, often an extremely vulnerable and least wealthy group.
They said that TCNs are among those most at risk of poverty and social exclusion, employment abuse, and even injury and death at the workplace.
The organisations described the measures as "socially unjust" and "anti-worker," and called on the government to reverse measures that discriminate against foreign workers and place additional financial burdens on some of Malta's most vulnerable residents.
As organisations working in the social and cultural fields, they said they were already painfully aware of the inequality and discrimination experienced by foreign workers in Malta.
"Yet, this Budget represents a shocking leap towards a country that officially segregates people on the basis of their nationality. Forcing third-country nationals (TCNs) to pay for basic services that are free for others, placing a particularly heavy burden on families with children, while also denying them employment rights enjoyed by other workers, is deeply unjust and simply unjustifiable," the statement said.
"This is an affront to social justice that inflicts pain on the targeted workers, as well as on their Maltese friends, partners and colleagues. We also question the legality of such measures in terms of conformity with the Constitution and relevant EU law on non-discrimination and rights of workers," the organisations said.
The organisations said the situation was all the more "absurd" considering that it was the same government that built an economic model based on the labour of foreign workers, bringing in thousands of workers to fill mostly low-paid jobs created by its policy of unsustainable economic growth.
"In effect, the anti-worker measures unveiled in the Budget will do nothing to reduce the rate at which our country requires an ever-increasing number of workers to satisfy the demands of an ever-growing economy. They will simply force the least wealthy in our society to pay much more," the statement said.
"After years of giving the impression that money was no problem thanks to a strong economy, the government is now squeezing those who can least afford it, while pandering to racist and xenophobic sentiments, simply because these workers have no vote and little political or social power."
The organisations said the impact of such policies went beyond the material hardship inflicted on migrant workers.
"These measures also entrench and take to an extreme a social model based on division and exploitation, in which a large class of workers is treated as little more than a resource to be exploited, with their rights and dignity disregarded at will. This will lead to even greater marginalisation of foreign workers and the uglification of Maltese society," they said.
"We strongly urge the government to reverse these unfair, anti-worker measures and instead start working towards a just and sustainable economic model in which workers' rights and dignity come before the insatiable pursuit of profits," the statement concluded.
The joint statement was signed by Aditus Foundation, African Media Association Malta, Association for Justice, Equality and Peace, Blue Door Education, Dance Beyond Borders, Dar Merħba Bik Foundation, Dean - Faculty of Education, Fondazzjoni Sebħ, Friends of the Earth Malta, Ġustizzja għall-Palestina, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Malta, Kopin, LGBTI+ Gozo, Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA), Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement (MGRM), Maltese Association of Social Workers, Migrant Women Association Malta, Moviment Graffitti, PEN Malta, Solidarjetà, SOS Malta, TCN Alliance, Victim Support Malta and Women's Rights Foundation.