The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE government has launched what Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell called a “forensic” review of hiring practices in Grand Bahama and the hotel sector, with particular scrutiny on management positions held by foreign workers.

Mr Mitchell said the Departments of Immigration and Labour were examining employment practices as the government prepares legislation aimed at strengthening enforcement against abuse of the work permit system and unlawful hiring.

The review comes amid longstanding complaints from investors that they cannot find enough Bahamian workers to meet their needs, despite the Department of Labour maintaining a registry of job seekers and operating the Bahamas Online Skills Portal to match qualified people with vacancies.

Mr Mitchell questioned why foreign nationals continue to occupy management positions at hotels and restaurants.

“It's always interesting to go to these hotels, for example, and find foreign labour in management positions,” he said.

“You go into a restaurant, there's a foreign maître d' or manager and you ask yourself, why is this?”

Current labour and immigration policies generally require employers to demonstrate that suitably qualified Bahamians are unavailable before they are permitted to recruit foreign workers.

Employers seeking work permits are typically required to advertise vacancies locally and obtain certification from the Department of Labour before hiring from abroad.

However, Mr Mitchell warned that investors should not be allowed to “plan Bahamians out of our country”.

He also questioned why Heads of Agreement must explicitly require investors to hire Bahamians, arguing that local employment should be presumed when companies invest in The Bahamas.

Mr Mitchell asked whether similar agreements in the United States would have to specify that Americans should be hired before foreign workers.

“Major investments are required in roads, in training, in new hotels and new construction, in energy and garbage collection and the environment and water and sewerage,” he said. “Billons of dollars, and tens of thousands of laborers, and who will finance it, and who will build it? Bahamians first.”

The government announced in the Speech from the Throne in May that it plans to introduce an Employer Immigration Compliance Act to strengthen enforcement against work permit abuse and unlawful employment practices.

Prime Minister Philip Davis also hosted an Opportunity Hub roundtable in April to examine the Notice of Vacancy Enforcement Policy and its role in expanding employment opportunities for Bahamians.

The meeting brought together labour officials and representatives from the cruise and sporting industries to discuss improving the vacancy notice process and strengthening cooperation between the government and private sector.