All 75 candidates who applied for a vacancy to join the Gozo Ministry as labourers last February have received a passing mark for the job.
The Ministry of Gozo called for the recruitment of labourers, the lowest grade in the public administration, during the electoral campaign through a vacancy issued last February. The call did not set an amount for how many labourers were needed and did not require any specific qualifications to apply.
A total of 75 applications were received, mostly from those already on some other temporary government scheme like the Community Workers Scheme, but at a lower wage.
Following interviews conducted by the Ministry’s Director for Services Joyce Farrugia, Mario Borg from the Finance Ministry and Mario Saliba from the OPM, all candidates were declared successful. The result were published last week and seen by The Shift.
The Ministry has now begun recruiting the successful candidates and putting them on the government payroll. This exercise is expected to cost taxpayers an additional €1 million per year in salaries and related expenses.
Sources at the ministry told The Shift that the government administration in Gozo does not need any more tradesmen, and that the vacancy formed part of the usual vote buying exercise carried out by the minister before the election.
“Most of the applicants were constituents who were asking the minister to switch them on to a permanent government job and not remain on the temporary community workers scheme or on contract with some private service provider,” the sources said. “This vacancy was created so these constituents could get a permanent job and a slight improvement in their take home pay.”
According to the sources, a government job has become a form of security in recent years, and even a businessman with a thriving restaurant in Xlendi which was bought by a construction developer for €3 million has been recruited in this most recent intake of labourers.
Always much more dependent on government jobs than Malta, Gozo has been transformed into a government recruitment agency, with all three Labour MPs from Gozo serving as ministers and competing against one another for how many favours can be delivered to potential voters.
The majority of the Gozitan working population is now employed by the government, either directly or indirectly through the Community Workers Scheme, at the Gozo Channel or by private companies who supply government departments and entities with security, trades and other services.
In the meantime, the Gozo private business community struggles to find full-time workers, with companies in the health, tourism and entertainment sectors having to recruit personnel from abroad.
This system has proven to be politically successful for the governing Labour Party which for the second election in a row managed to win a majority of votes in Gozo. Gozo has traditionally voted PN since 1964, except for the 2017 and 2022 elections.
Cheap votes, cheap people.
Cheap people, definitely – but fed on very costly chicken feed!
As a local saying goes “Kieku l-bajda kellha l-widnejn, minflok wiehed jerfghuha tnejn!”
U kultant anki tlieta, tafux.
U inti tahseb li dawn in-nies jirrappurtaw ghax-xoghol? Politikanti laburisti icemplulhom biex jitolbuhom biex “ghallinqas imorru jiffirmaw”
Did you know that in Gozo they invented full time jobs to distribute pet food in the streets for the stray cats ? Besides it is illegal to feed cats in the streets !!
M’hemmx biex tistghageb fuq dak il-job biss! Hawn Malta ivvintaw job ta’ CEO fil-korp tal-Pulizija taht it-tmexxija ta’ eks Ministru biex issa dak il-job ma jezistix! Tghid ghalxiex hux????
Something has to be done to stop all these corrupt practices. The Opposition has to react strongly where it matters most. Now Minister Caruana, part of this gang, comes to tell us that our standard living might hit lower levels if the Gov does not continue to sustain our population. And for how long? When we always hear about this irresponsible attitude of his colleagues in government.
Ma tarax li il PN se jifthu halqhom kontra huthom l ghawdxin. Ghandek tkun taf li il mafjus TOTO RİNA ghamel zmien jghix f ghawdex u kien jaghallimhom xi tfisser OMERTA u taghlmu sew tafx. Ghara il PN qatx semma lil Joseph Portelli?
Fuq Ghawdex imisshom jaghmlu Ministru Malti mela kieku vera jridu li forsi jirrangaw daqsxejn is-sitwazzjoni. Imma Le ta’, ma jridux jirrangaw l-ebda sitwazzjoni. Ifhem, is-Segretarju Permanenti Malti, hariglu s-sadid nahseb ukoll, heqqq u allura kieku jippruvaw Ministru Malti nghid jien! Jippruvaw iridu, u jaraw kif imorru.
Opposition hopless case.
What opposition does it still exist. If it was not for the Shift and Mark Camilleri, Manuel Delia, Jon Mallia, Arnold Cassola, Graffiti and members of ADPD who constantly write articles,do the podcast and protest we would know nothing. These people are the modern opposition. Honestly I did not write Republika as in my opinion it is biased on one side. I have no sides what is wrong is wrong.
Hnezrijiet accettati mill- poplu gifa. 75 impjegat li jidhlu ghal hamest minuti u wara jkomplu il-veru xoghol taghhom u l-poplu gahan jahdem ghlihom. HALLELIN huma u min impjeghom.
The Shift – Thank You. Please be informed that these 75 new “full time” government employees will never work a full day work. Not even an hour a day. They all use the “full time” government job as a cushion to have a guarantee that their NI is being paid by the Government and receive the wages for nothing. They all have full time undeclared job somewhere else with the private sector or self employed without obviously paying the NI and the relative taxes. They do all sorts of jobs, but off the book. Money Launderers and Tax evaders. Poor Finance Minister !!!! FIAU ??? Black Economy Galore !!! Where is the General Auditor ? Where are the Job Inspectors ? Where is the Opposition Party ? It is all Corruption for votes. We will soon be the next Greece. Workers do not go to work and get paid. Incredible but true. Besides that they are ruining and destroying our economy.
Tal-Misthija! Ghal min iridu jaraw kif joholquhom il-posts mal-Gvern. Basta….. LEEEEE DAQSHEKK SE NDAHHLU NIES MAL-GVERN! Se naghtu kollox f’idejn il-kuntratturi. U mela Mhux hekk! Dawn huma ftit Ghax apparti dawn min jaf x’hemm pozizzjonijiet ohrajn mehudin minn nies li m’ghandhomx certu intellet (b’kull dovut rispett) u qedin jiehdu pozizzjonijiet gholjin u ovvjament jithallsu ta’ pozizzjoni li Mhux misthoqqa lilhom! Insomma, jekk nibda ma nieqafx.
Prosit lil gurnalisti tad-The Shift. Komplu sejrin hekk halli FORSI fl-ahhar il-poplu jintebah bil-manuvri li qed ikomplu jsiru. Avolja! Ma nahsibx li l-poplu huwa daqshekk bahnan, pero hawn min jibza jilmenta. Uuuuu min jaf x’hemm izjed, min jaf! Min Qed ihawwad fil-borma jaf x’inhu jintefa’. L-oppozizzjoni fejn qedin? Sleepy? Stharrgu izjed u faqqghu il-PQ’s Mhux insahhnu s-siggijiet fil-parlament l-aqwa li diehla l-paga – haddmu raskom.
Dan l abbuz kollu li qed jigri hu ghax ma hemmx oppozizjoni denja gewwa Malta. Reqdin jew qed jieklu ma xulxin ?
Ha nghidilkom, ahna c-cwiec Ghax nohorgu nivvutaw. Dawk li jitqatlu ghal post ta’ Ministru jaqblilhom Ghax jistghu jakkwistaw mhux fama imma bhal ma akkwistaw dawk li jinqabdu. Il-poplu jrid jitghallem u ma jmurx jigbor lanqas il-vot u ma jhallux min jaghmihom u ma jridux jinxtraw b’weghdiet li jhobbu jaghmlu qabel kull elezzjoni (u tlett kwarti minnhom ma jzommuhomx). Jekk Mhux se naghtuhom tbezbiza hekk lil dawn iz-zewg partiti mhumiex se jitghallmu u se jibqghu jaghmlu li jridu. Il-middle class se tispicca ftit ftit u se jibqaw biss il-high class u l-low, mhux ovvja ha! U kemm hemm nies li ma haqqhomx certu pozizzjoni imma Ghax tac-cirku taghhom Qed igawdi. U taf x’naf inghid ukoll, illi hafna minnhom jiehdu xi haga Ghax jheddu jew jikxfu fuq il-media. Good luck to them ta’, pero ghalija jaqaw ghac-cajt nies hekk. U min huma jafu sew jekk jaqraw din li Qed nghid ghalihom. Hemm bzonn bidla fiz-zewg partiti. U kieku jkollna partit iehor fil-parlament kieku jnehhu l-qziez Ghax ikollhom ix-xkiel. Irridu nsemmghu aktar lehhinnha.
Kull meta jkun hemm interviews bhal dawn b’ xamma xejn sabiha dejjem ikun hemm din Farrugia fihom. Tghid ghalfejn?
Jekk toqoghodu tiflu sew il-passi ta’ kull min ikun fil-Gvern nahseb, imma dawn eskalaw izzejjed, wisq anzi, tinnutaw illi certu nies li jkunu fil-mira jew f’halq il-media jaraw kif jaghmlu u jcaqalquhom pero’ dejjem f’pozizzjonijiet gholjien jibqghu u b’salarju u b’perkacci tal-bliegh! Jigifieri lil din jekk inehhuha min hemm ibqa’ cert li mhux se jqacctuha kompletament – insa! Ahna ghal ragunijiet bhal dawn ma rridux nibqghu nivvutaw Ghax inkunu Qed inkomplu npaxxu lil nies bhal dawn.
May I ask how old are some people of these boards ?and why they dont leave a job for someone else , and how often are they changed ? ,or in how many boards are they committed , I stand to be corrected but after an election , they have to be re elected .
M’hemmx eta’ fejn jidhlu l-flus. U jekk inehhu persuna minn kariga prominenti ibqa’ cert li jitfawha f’post iehor bhala Direttur, CEO eccetra. Heqqqq, milux wisq li lahqu nies godda f’zewg Dipartimenti maghrufin hafna mal-media wkoll pero’ dawn kellhom pozizzjoni gholja ohra qabel u issa qedin ikomplu jgawdu x’imkien iehor. Good luck to them ta’! Dejjem l-istess nies pero’, tac-cirku. U Mhux Dik biss, biex hadu post haddiehor, biex qalu forsi l-affarijiet fid-dipartiment jitjiebu, lil min qacctu minn postu biex izommuh kwiet tawh/holqulu post ukoll.
B’kull dovut rispett lil gurnalisti, Jiena gurnalista m’iniex, pero’ in-nies kollox issir taf u ifhem, jekk il-gurnalisti jkomplu jgharrxu sewwa jkomplu johorgu izjed affarijiet u l-poplu forsi xi darba jitghallem izjed u lil dawn in-nies ma npaxxihom bl-ebda vot. U semmghu lehenkom halli jkunu jafu li l-poplu mhuwiex bahnan bhal ma jriduna biex dejjem igawdu l-istess nies.