Investigations find issues with precarious employment of Playmobil Malta’s ‘home workers’

Issues have been found relating to the precarious employment of “home workers” by Playmobil Malta’s subcontractors, Director for Industrial and Employment Relations Sandra Gatt has confirmed with The Malta Independent. An investigation was launched after this newsroom revealed that Playmobil’s cheap payment of subcontractors was resulting in the precarious employment of individuals a ta a rate as little as €1.90 per hour, less than half the minimum wage.

It was reported that the German company engages subcontractors who then employ Maltese people to assemble toys, paying them between €1.90 and €2.00 per hour to work from home, in a clear violation of employment laws by subjecting individuals to precarious conditions of work.

This newsroom also found that the company requires the subcontractors to adhere to strict production regulations. Documents indicate that for one product, the subcontractor will be paid €11.40 for every 1,000 pieces that is produced within three hours. This translates to roughly 350 units at €3.99 per hour, meaning that the workers assemble one piece every ten seconds.

In other instances subcontractors are required to produce 1,000 pieces for €16 at a rate of 250 per hour. This means that the individual will produce one every fifteen seconds or 1,000 within four hours. It is humanly impossible to produce more units per hour to reach the minimum wage rate.

“During the investigation EIRA inspectors visited Playmobil Malta and a few of the subcontractors and interviewed both the management and employees at the place of work.

“The only issue that transpired from this investigation is related to “home workers.”

“Discussions in this regard are still underway and hence it is premature to comment further at this stage.”

The well-informed and trusted sources also told this newspaper that Playmobil Malta issues invoices to the subcontractors according to the total units produced. This, the sources claim, is a method to disguise the true cost of the wage per hour should the authorities challenge this practice, something which has not happened to date.

The Maltese company’s current CEO, Matthias Frauser, has refused to answer questions sent by The Malta Independent a week ago, with company’s receptionist informing the newsroom that “Playmobil Malta does not respond to the media,” despite previous assurances.

Contacted by the newsroom, Playmobil’s corporate offices in Germany did not confirm or deny the reports, but refrained from commenting further.