On Friday, 12th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This year’s event is all about celebrating community – with live music, delicious food, and a raffle...
JRS Malta report sheds light on The Human Cost of Legal Precarity and Labour Exploitation in Malta

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JRS Malta launches complaints procedure
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Updated: Call for applications – Social Worker
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A new JRS Malta report uncovers shocking levels of exploitation and mistreatment among migrant workers in Malta, including withholding of wages, firing people without due cause, violations of health and safety regulations, and numerous instances of bullying, discrimination and racism in the workplace.
The report, called “Forced to Hide – The Human Cost of Legal Precarity and Labour Exploitation”, was launched on Wednesday 3rd September at Europe House, Valletta. The research encompassed a series of interviews with migrants, all with different degrees of legal precarity – from TCNs in Malta on a Single Work Permit, to asylum seekers, rejected asylum seekers and undocumented workers.
Migrants interviewed spoke not only of fear and psychological stresses at work but how living in the community has become increasingly harder. They are constantly vulnerable to immigration control measures and raids in the community that have targeted even those who have been living and working in Malta for many years.
The report concludes with 3 key recommendations directed at policymakers, employers and society as a whole:
- The reintroduction of a regularisation pathway, which would provide legal stability to many people who did not qualify for asylum or protection status yet have been living in Malta for a number of years, paying taxes, are part of Maltese society and strong and diverse communities.
- Prioritisation of workers’ rights, regardless of legal status – ill-treatment at the workplace and violations of employment law must be investigated thoroughly and punished, regardless of the worker’s legal status. The culture of impunity and profit from exploitation must be met with zero-tolerance.
- Creation of spaces for dialogue and joint action to ensure effective protection of undocumented migrants including better collaboration between stakeholders to raise awareness of exploitative and illegal practices, highlighting lived experiences and the real impact of the government’s policies on people’s lives.
This research was conducted by JRS Malta as part of a project, entitled ‘Forced to hide: Understanding the human cost of the shadow economy on the lives of vulnerable migrant workers in Malta’. It was supported by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and the Robert Bosch Stiftung’s grant programme on labour rights and labour migration. As part of the project, the aforementioned research report was developed, alongside a collection of narrative stories and a short, animated documentary film, Paper Ghosts. The feature can be downloaded viewed and downloaded here.
Latest news stories
Join us for ‘Under the Stars’ – A Night of Music, Food & Solidarity
On Friday, 12th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This year’s event is all about celebrating community – with live music, delicious food, and a raffle...
JRS Malta launches complaints procedure
We are here for you… At JRS we do our best to provide clients with a professional service focused on supporting clients’ needs. We do our utmost to help clients feel respected and supported, as we meet their needs. If however there has been a situation where you have...
Call for maternity leave cover: advocacy and administration
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a Maternity Leave Cover – Advocacy & Administration to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The selected candidate will be offered a 6-month definite term full-time contract. As this post is a maternity leave cover, renewal...
JRS is seeking to recruit a Lawyer
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a LAWYER, to work with asylum seekers and immigrants in Malta. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Individuals who cannot work at least...
aditus and JRS Malta welcome CPT Report over detention conditions in Malta
aditus and JRS Malta welcome the recently published report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). The report confirms many of the concerns we have been raising for several years regarding the...
JRS statement on Assisted Voluntary Euthanasia
Dying with dignity is not about deciding when to die, but about making sure every person is cared for, given adequate pain management, and never made to feel like a burden. Accompanying refugees at the end of their lives, we have witnessed first-hand the excruciating...
Updated: JRS Malta is looking for cultural mediators
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit CULTURAL MEDIATORS who are fluent in the following languages: Bangla, French, Spanish, Tigrinya, Ukrainian The selected candidate will be offered a six-month contract of service - renewable upon review - to support members of the JRS...
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Updated: JRS is seeking to recruit a Psychosocial Team Coordinator
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a PSYCHOSOCIAL TEAM COORDINATOR to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Individuals who...
Updated: Call for applications – Social Worker
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a SOCIAL WORKER to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Applicants are to submit a letter...

Join us for ‘Under the Stars’ – A Night of Music, Food & Solidarity
On Friday, 12th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This year’s event is all about...

JRS Malta launches complaints procedure
We are here for you… At JRS we do our best to provide clients with a professional service focused on supporting clients’ needs. We do our utmost to help clients feel respected and supported, as we...