By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Department of Immigration has withdrawn the right to work of an employee of the Memories Resort in Grand Bahama and has initiated steps to have the person leave the country, according to a press statement released on Friday.
Although officials did not provide details, the person referred to is likely the general manager of the Freeport, Grand Bahama resort after concerns were raised about alleged abusive behaviour towards staff.
In December, the Grand Bahama Youth Choir and its director were also reportedly asked to leave the Memories Resort by a foreign manager on Christmas Eve before completing their performance.
“The Department of Immigration received a report from the Department of Labour with regard to the actions of a non-Bahamian employee toward Bahamian employees at this hotel and has acted pursuant to the recommendations of that report – that is the withdrawal of the employee’s right to work in The Bahamas and his recall from The Bahamas. The matter, however, may be the subject to an appeal,” the statement said.
The statement said the department is also reviewing information regarding matters at The Pointe development at the British Colonial Hotel and alleged abuse of staff at the Cove resort in Eleuthera.
The statement said: “The Department of Immigration advises the general public of the status of a number of immigration matters under active review. The public is further advised that complaints and reported irregularities regarding work permits are initially investigated by the Department of Labour according to law.
“The government of The Bahamas is particularly sensitive to the labour components of commercial agreements as regards the limitations on foreign labour and the training and hiring of Bahamian labour.”
Regarding The Pointe, the department said: “The department is reviewing this project and expects to meet with the developer and the Department of Labour shortly in connection with their project.”
The statement added: “The Cove at Eleuthera: reports of (alleged) abusive behaviour by foreign management toward Bahamian employees is also under active investigation at this project in Eleuthera. The department will keep the public informed of any new development.”
When contacted, Minister of Immigration and Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, who was out of the country, declined to comment. Immigration Director William Pratt also declined comment yesterday.
Comments
TruePeople 8 years, 3 months ago
All you gatta do is make an allegation against your boss, and if they aren't 'true true Bahamian'... they get deported.... nice to know
I see the gov't is already employing unqualified locals, why don't we just do this across the board, and kick all the foreigners out.
Oh that tourist was also rude to me... kick them out too.... and that one..... and that one as well... and dis bey just look Haitian.... kick him out as well
John 8 years, 3 months ago
Good riddance to bad rubbish!..time to deal with them who come here and belittle and mistreat Bahamians...his behavior is well documented.
themessenger 8 years, 3 months ago
Not defending the hotel manager if what reportedly happened to the Grand Bahama Youth Choir and their Director is factual as that sort of behavior is not acceptable. However, the Immigration dept seems to be throwing its weight around quite a bit these days even to the point of ignoring the courts,ask Bruno Rufa, also condoning the beating of illegals by the Defense Force, ask the Cubans, Jamaicans and Haitians. On another note, who gat more suck teet, fish mout and stink attitude than Bahamians when it comes to authority especially if its Foreign.
TruePeople 8 years, 3 months ago
Dats what i was thinkin messenger.... What i gah do with my local boss who's treat me bad??? guess i got to buck him in the streets aye.... o_0
Publius 8 years, 3 months ago
Got to smile at people who go out of their way to try to write in broken English on these sites when that is clearly not how they write otherwise. Don't worry, your identity is "safe"! lol
TruePeople 8 years, 3 months ago
i write how i talk buddy, i ain't the queen of england. but bless up and keep on smiling!!! ;)
banker 8 years, 3 months ago
This is a dangerous precedent. Yes the children's choir was unceremoniously kicked out. Yes, Bahamians were treated badly. However to interfere with business to withdraw work permits -- and to dispossess Baha Mar, just sends a message that you would be a fool to invest in the Bahamas, because the government in a whim, can interfere with your business, your hiring, and your investment.
Another nail in the coffin.
SP 8 years, 3 months ago
.................................................. Here's an idea ......................................................
Allow foreign entities to come to our country, mistreat, spat and kick our people in their black nigger ass's, then tell our people to smile broadly and be nice to them.
I pray one of them spat on me or tried treating me as a lessor human being than they think themselves to be.
Jesus himself would have to pry me off his dead carcass, and I would suffer life in prison with the knowledge that the stinking SOB wouldn't be around to do it again to ANYBODY!
We have to stand, believe and fight for something. Kissing ass and going back to slavery is not one of them!
If these people cannot behave and treat Bahamians properly, let them take their fuc*ing "investments" to Haiti or somewhere else.
BMW 8 years, 3 months ago
You are describing ojr present government!!!!
TruePeople 8 years, 3 months ago
Bey, we survive on tourism and banking.... both of which cater to foreigners.... Our head of state is the Queen on England, and our currency is owned the the United States.... how sovereign do you think we are?
Yeah.... They should all go to Haiti and leave us alone! Then we gone be on boats trying to go over there and getting our hip deported right back to the wonderful Bahamas.
BMW 8 years, 3 months ago
And there is our problem.
John 8 years, 3 months ago
So they wann ban the entire Bahamian population out of the casinos and off the beaches. Yet they sympathize with a foreigner who came here on the courtesy of the Bahamian people but he doesn't know how to treat em. Roll him out!
Emac 8 years, 3 months ago
Bahamians are too eager to accept any rubbish from someone else just because he or she is foreign. When will we rid ourselves of this slave mentality. If there is evidence that employers are using their position to abuse employees, then they should be deported of fired, be they Bahamian or foreigner. I am Bahamian and I will be the first to say that the typical Bahamian work etiquette is horrible. Yes, and sometimes Bahamians complain for no other reason other than their boss getting down on their case because of non performance. However, this is not always the case. It has been proven that this manager at the Freeport hotel overstepped his boundaries, and the correct procedure was followed. Cut 'n' dry! Please be objective about this matter and stop complaining just because most of you dislike Fred Mitchell.
TruePeople 8 years, 3 months ago
True
banker 8 years, 3 months ago
Work permits are the fuel for the economic engine of the Bahamas. Since we rely totally on Foreign Direct Investment to power the economy, we must accept that some of the skillset must be imported, and as such, work permits are not to be taken away capriciously or lightly. In many countries. a work permit is revoked only when the law is broken and a felony committed. While the manager was rude and crude to Bahamians, to my knowledge he broke no law.
The bigger picture is that we need the Memories jobs. We need the investment by the owners of Memories, and as such, the foolish capricious action of the Minister of Foreign Affairs rivals the foolish capricious action of the Prime Minister and the Attorney General in the sordid Baha Mar affair. This government is blatantly out of control and doesn't know how to behave like a civilised government. Their legacy is being written in these pages.
John 8 years, 3 months ago
@ banker work permits may be necessary to fuel the economy, but no BAHAMIAN worker should be required to sacrifice his/her dignity for a job. Not only did this clown repeatedly abuse his workers but he showed total disregard for young Bahamians and our culture by stopping a musical performance in the middle of a song. If you don't have a problem with that then you are not Bahamian. Stop pandering.
banker 8 years, 3 months ago
Not pandering at all. Just pointing out the economic facts of life. It's the golden rule -- he who has the gold makes the rule.
If you think that Bahamians are in charge of their own economic destiny, you are wrong. Businesses are in business to make money. By doing so, they create jobs. And since we are generally unable to create the amount of jobs that Foreign Direct Investment creates, we must let foreigners run their businesses as they see fit.
To question whether I am a Bahamian based on a rational economic point of view is absurd. What this manager did was despicable and insulting to Bahamians. But a work permit holder must be treated like a Bahamian with respect to the law. You can't pull a work permit because he is an odious nasty individual, just as you can't fire a worker for being a pr*ck. He or she has to break the law or a published code of conduct that is part of the employment contract. This guy did no such thing.
This is the thin edge of the wedge. If a permit holder criticises the government, they may take away his work permit too. Having a work permit doesn't muzzle your rights.
The cogent question is: "Did this worker break the law?". If the answer is no, then he still has the right to work in the Bahamas until the expiration of his term. I work in financial services. If it wasn't for work permits, this segment of the industry would not even exist in the Bahamas. As such it is diminishing because of lack of foresight of Bahamians. The first time PGC won the prime ministership, he commissioned Brian Moree to "fix" financial services. Moree suggested diversification, opening up the field to experts, issuing more work permits to come and create innovative products and save the industry. There was a huge "Bahamianization" outcry over more foreign workers, and the commission report was deep-sixed. As a result we are dying.
In contrast, PGC issued thousand of Chinese work permits for jobs that Bahamians could have done.
Work permits are more important to your wellbeing, than you care to admit. But unfortunately, you will soon find out.
TruePeople 8 years, 3 months ago
There's always too much 'Foreigner vs. Bahamians' thinking in our society, and it skews everyone's point of view. I agree with your points banker because i know them to be true.
As far as i know hiring the Chinese workers should be illegal because the law provides that a Bahamian must be employed for work in the country save only for the circumstances that no qualified locals exist. But there you go, it happened. In the case of foreign professional services, such as with financial products, people like they get envious of the status these foreigners hold 'over' Bahamians.
Where is the clear thinking?
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