The legal and administrative challenges for the decent work right protection: a case study on lower-skilled TCN workers in Malta

Abstract

This thesis investigates the structural and legal shortcomings that hinder the protection of decent work rights for lower-skilled Third-Country National (TCN) workers in Malta. Although the country formally adheres to key international and EU labour standards, a gap persists between legal frameworks and their enforcement. The study contends that this failure to protect arises not only from legislative deficiencies but also from deeper institutional dysfunction, which encompasses corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, and limited transparency. The research employs a threefold methodology: a legal comparative analysis, a survey of TCNs’ lived experiences, and an institutional assessment leading to policy recommendations. The legal analysis reveals Malta’s partial transposition of core labour rights instruments while highlighting systemic issues in areas such as unfair dismissals, access to information, and dispute resolution. Empirical findings from a survey of 43 participants illustrate widespread labour abuses, including wage theft, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, and a pervasive mistrust of institutions. The final chapter identifies structural weaknesses, including the employer-tied work permit system, the absence of regularisation mechanisms, and the exclusion of irregular migrants from labour protections. To address these challenges, six recommendations are proposed: decoupling migration status from employment, introducing fair regularisation pathways, reinforcing public-private protection networks, certifying employers in human rights standards, mandating occupational safety training, and enhancing institutional accountability through transparency and ethics reforms.