Miller: Rollover not the issue

| 22/09/2011

(CNS): The independent member for North Side has said that the government is wrong to suspend the rollover policy as it is not the cause of the country’s continued economic woes. Ezzard Miller pointed again to the high cost of living and the incompetence of government as the roots of the problem, not a policy which he said was designed to keep Caymanians from losing political and economic control of their country. Miller said that if the immigration laws were properly adhered to, Caymanians would be protected at work.  He also said the expected exodus of workers was irrelevant as those leaving would be replaced by others. Employers, he said, were well aware of the policy and should have made succession plans.

“I have no sympathy for firms who say they are losing half their work force,” Miller told CNS. “That is entirely self-inflicted by their own bad management and succession planning. All these firms should be aware of the provisions of the immigration law.” He said ignorance was no excuse and no country should amend its laws to make up for bad management decisions by owners, managers or employers.

Miller pointed out that the term limit is not about creating jobs and protecting Caymanians in the workplace but about political control.

“I supported the rollover provisions in the law to prevent Caymanians who have already lost economic control of our islands' destiny from also losing political control. I never believed the rollover policy would or should provide jobs or promotional opportunities for Caymanians; those should be earned and there are other provisions in the immigration law to ensure this is enforced where applicable,” he added.

The independent member pointed out that the solution to balancing the problem of attracting the best workers and protecting the local population is the fair and equitable enforcement of the current immigration law by the boards.

“I do not believe that the provisions of the current immigration law prevent attracting the best workers to the Cayman Islands as there are adequate provisions in the law, such as key employee, that allow the brightest and the best to remain in Cayman if applied fairly and properly.” Miller also said he was in favour of a seven year permit with no renewal if holders were not granted key.

“There are other greater problems with the economy, such as high cost of living, the high cost of doing business and the ‘rolling’ decision making of the incompetent UDP government and its policies, that prevent the attraction of best talent to the Cayman Islands,” Miller added.

The independent member pointed out that over the past two years the Legislative Assembly had amended several sections of the immigration law that the UDP government and its advisors claimed would solve the economic problems, but nothing has happened.

He noted that the claims made by the government that the policy had to be suspended because people were leaving and thousands of properties were empty was untrue as most of those that would benefit from this decision were here and were not renting these condos. Miller put this down to the low pay that they received forcing them to live in shared cramped conditions.

The independent member also noted that it was clear from the recent budget predictions for this financial year, which pointed to an increase in work permit revenue of some 25%, that despite Caymanian unemployment the UDP government had planned to increase permit holder numbers.

Miller said he would not support the suspension of the rollover policy while the review was underway and stated that Cabinet cannot lawfully suspend the policy. He added that he would be watching with interest to see what creative amendments to the law Cabinet would come up with and how it would deal with the 21 days requirement of the constitution.

On Wednesday evening at a public meeting in West Bay the premier confirmed that Cabinet had agreed to the suspension of the seven year term limit and the amendments would be brought to the Legislative Assembly at the next sitting. He also said the names of those sitting on the review committee would be made public on Thursday.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Even though Mr. Miller has some good points and concerns for the general Caymanian populace, he needs to stop the flip flopping and playing 'devil’s advocate' politics. For instance he insists that something needs to be addressed and gives a possible solution. Then he takes a different stance when and complains when the issue is addressed along the lines of his solution, that is called 'SELF CONTRADICTION'. You are an intelligent man Mr. Miller, but many of us in the general public are just as intelligent as you with some being even more intelligent.

     

    You need to stop trying to gain your personal agenda by playing on the fears of the people, and focus on working with your people/supporters/constituents to assist with turning/jump starting this economy for the benefit of ALL and I mean the entire Cayman Islands.

     

    STOP TRYING TO DEFLATE THE POSITIVE STEPS THIS GOVERNMENT IS MAKING FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COUNTRY IN THESE PERILOUS/DIFFICULT GLOBAL ECONOMIC TIMES THAT WE ALL HAVE TO FACE AND COPE WITH.

  2. Anonymous says:

    14:32

    You guys need to learn how to spell. I tried reading your message and got confused because of your spellings and grammar. What the heck? Your teachers need a beating. Most  of you writers do not know how to spell and only muddle the message which sometimes have good substance.

    I wlill be comeing two sea what they are teaching hour young people over their,(JGHS). I hair that the teachers cannot bee bothered with the students because they fair them. You parents should teach your kids sum manners two prevent fare in the school system.  And Mr. Ezzie, please sea how you can teach these young sun and dawgters to paye attention two what there teachers are teaching hat school.

  3. Anonymous says:

    "That is entirely self-inflicted by their own bad management and succession planning…"

     

    The government hires expats with government contracts that fall outside the work permit system and that are not subject to roll over.

     

    It seems that the government knows that it is incapable of good management and competant succession planning. Why else would the government exempt itself from work permits and roll over?

  4. Humpty Dumpty says:

    The rollover should be applied only to the Legislative Assembly.

  5. Anonymous says:

    You all know that you are lying when you say that 6000 people leaving is going to cause a problem . New people coming in will replace them. So truly what is the problem? Could it be your friend or family member is leaving? Could it be that you have to teach the new people coming to take the job? Or that you have to offer more money or benefits? Your workers are not investors. Thats baloney we know it and you know it . What are they investing in? A house is what you live in. They are not  hiring anyone.                                 What they are getting from coming to work here  is a  tax exemptions , just like all of you who have come from US , Canada, UK, etc.                                                                                    I'm an American citizen / Caymanian status holder . I've been here 42 years . You all are talking nonsense. White collar jobs have no problem getting a work permit. Its only blue collar jobs that are willing to work for less money for a short amount of time that are taking the bulk of  Caymanian jobs. These people have no reason to buy a house cause they don't make enough money. That's your fault. If you paid salaries equivalent  to what you would have to pay in the US, Canada, UK etc.  There wouldn't be any problem and you would get better caymanian staff to work with. But you believe you control the people and you don't.                                                                                                                                              You came here because you liked the island and its people now be fair and do the right thing. Or please go back to where you come from, Because you are becoming part of the problem. We have over 300 rest. 60 beauty parlours etc, etc. We don't need all of these businesses.

    I am so sick and tired of listening to you all whine about the minimum wage. We need to do what they do everywhere else. Why don't the financial wizards back home declare that a minimum wage is a problem . Because it isn't . Unions back in the states are going to get back their jobs . Obama will win the next election. Medicare and social security will be solved.                                                                                                                                                     So pay your caymanian staff better and you see more caymanians apply for your wanted ads. 

    A lot of caymanians have left this island and get better pay working in US, Canada and UK. So don't tell me they are not qualified. Do the right thing

  6. Dred says:

    I am neither one way or the other on the Rollover. I believe it was created with the best intentions but enforcement along with abuse overwhelmed it.

    It's goals as I saw it was to limit the amount of people qualifying for Cayman Status and at the same time trying to pursuade businesses to hire competent Caymanians.

    In the end several things happened:

    – There were not enough "competent" Caymanians and some needed staff were rolled over

    – Some businesses simply wanted foreign workers because they felt they had more control over them. So instead of trying to recruit a Caymanian for the post they advertised JUST BECAUSE and simply found any reason they could not to hire them because they had someone lined up already. They actually preferred to go from one permit to another.

    The idea was that during this time of having the foreign worker they would find a competent Caymanians and train them to replace the foreign worker but instead they simply enjoyed that staff member for the time they could and went on to hire another.

    How do I know this? I have seen it at least 10 times or more PERSONALLY.

    Now let me be 100% fair in all of this. Us Caymanians haven't made life easy either. Many of us show up late for work, show up drunk, I can go on and on. We haven't done our fair share and we are making it harder for the next generation too. BUT there are Caymanians that work hard and give it all daily and some of those are not getting a fair shake.

    So Mr. Miller is right and wrong all at the same time.

    My belief is simple and I will stick with this until teh day I die.

    All things being equal between me and a foreigner when we do an interview I should get the job every single time.

    Why? This is my home. My country. My money stays in this economy. I cost less to hire and can be on the job faster.

    You want to call that entitlement go ahead. I see it as commonsense.

    Remember I said ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL meaning he is no smarter or more experienced than me I should get the job.

    Let's be clear a Caymanian out of work puts a strain on our system. A foreigner out of work he goes back home to get a job or put a strain on some other countries system. Also 99% of my income goes right back into the economy of the country while the foreigner sends what 30%-50% back home.

    The one thing about Mr. Miller that I like is that in the end whether I agree with him or not he is consistent. He is Pro-Caymanian but also don't like to see foreigners taken advantage of. He also likes thinsg done right.

    • Jemiah says:

      I generally agree with your comments, unfortunately for the very hard working Caymanians, they get tarred with the same brush as those Caymanians who are happy to bludge. Also all things being equal you should get the job, but to my mind this is what occurs already. I know from my work place in the last two years, three expats have been replaced without question when a Caymanian with equivalent skills have applied for positions, and I am sure this occurs in most businesses, its just that some Caymanians love to use "the expat looks after expats" to excuse their own failings. Remember businesses are out to make money, and it makes business sense to hire a Caymanian over a expat – all things being equal. This is just common sense, however we live in a human world where people lose their ability to look at issues rationally, and I believe this is why there is such conflict betwen expat and Caymanian. Peace be to all. 

  7. Anonymous says:

    I am a expat 65 years old and living in Cayman for 25 years, I went to pay my water bill today in George Town , I was the only customer, the young lady in the centre position looked up and and then looked at her finger nails and started to clean them, the other staff were doing some sort of paper work, after a few seconds the young lady indicated I should move to her position, the transaction was completed with complete distaste from this youg lady and I left feeling quite sad, all I could think was she had been listing to Ezzard on the talk show.   

    • Anonymous says:

      Not excusable but likely the natural result of a wholesale marginalization of local persons, particularly over the last 10 years. The system was designed for Caymanians and expatriates to work together for mutual benefit. The fact is that the relationship has been far from a partnership for some years. There are individuals at fault on both sides, but fundamentally the wholesale failure to enforce the laws critical to enforcing the balance is the cause – and responsibility for that rests with our so called leaders.

    • Anonymous says:

      20:20, 

      I am a young Caymanian and I hade the reverse experience recently. I was in an establishment to spend in excess of $10,000.00 and was waiting to be helped like everyone else, to my surprise the non-caymanian who was serving took another customer who was also non caymanian and spent less. I thought ok there is probably a good reason for this, and waited for a while. The non Caymanian then started to do a plethora of menial office duties before helping me, when he finall fit me into his schedule I told him that I had changed my jeans and Tee shirt wearing 10k and went down the street where a local who knew me treated me like everyone else. 

       

      That is what Ezzard was talking about sir.

       

      SOL

  8. Anonymous says:

    I have been working with my company for the past seven years and to date I have not been given any sort of training to move up in our company.

    For the past three years I asked my boss for training and his reply was "the company don't have any funds in the budget to train me", however I have seen year in and year out where training is provided to expats.  I have seen and processed the cheques and wire transfer for payments to cover the cost for them to do online courses and so on.

    I need my job and I would like to continue to grow with our company, but law is law and I don't understand why the Staffing Plan people at the Imm Dept have not seen what is going on at our company.

    Someone need to look into this and protect us as Caymanian.

    Thank you Mr. Miller

     

  9. Just Commentin' says:

    Because the rollover is not the "cause of" economic woes, Ezzard Miller believes that it is a good policy and should remain? Is this the kind of logic that a person who personifies himself as a serious leader offers? No damn wonder this territory is in such sad shape. If we take ideas like this seriously we deserve to take our licks. Too much of the time the best our leaders and wannabee leaders can do is put their mouth in motion before they put their mind in gear. Ezzard, your opinions on the rollover offer a superb example of this.

    In light of the state of global and regional economies, nobody would seriously think that the rollover is the root cause of our economic woes. At any rate, just because the rollover is not The Cause of our economic woes does not mean that the rollover does not impose a considerable hardship on businesses trying to cope with an already painful downturn. You are seriously deluded if you think that the rollover does not contribute to this territory's economic problems.

    How can anyone in their right mind say that the loss of seasoned and experience workers because of the rollover is a "self-inflicted" loss? That is just dumb. Training and integrating an employee into a business is a time-consuming and costly process. It is impossible for the local work force to fill all jobs in these islands, so having a significant numberof expat workers on permits is an undeniable necessity.

    Once a work permit is granted, the worker must gain experience within the business in order to become an optimally productive employee. The rollover throws away the valuable asset of an experienced and seasoned worker, causing the business to start from scratch every seven years relative to non-key positions that cannot be filled locally. 

     

    How can you say this loss is the fault of the business involved? That is an unbelievably irresponsible statement.

     

    Regardless of how efficient a company's management and succession planning is, and regardless of how savvy the business management is in regard to immigration laws, the rollover certainly is the cause of the loss of valuable assets and inflicts real economic losses to businesses; there is nothing "self-inflicted" about it. No amount of "fair and equitable enforcement of the current immigration law by the boards" will mitigate the loss. Silly idea.

    If you had suggested that the rollover as a means of population control should be considered as an integral part of the cost of doing business and that such cost is reasonable relative to he benefits, then you would have been a wee bit closer to sounding rational.

    And another thing…! (God bless the memory of The Major.)  If one of our problems is "the high cost of doing business" how can a policy that contributes to higher cost of doing business not be a part of the problem?

    And another thing…! Ezz, if you "supported the rollover provisions in the law to prevent Caymanians who have already lost economic control of our islands' destiny from also losing political control", either you have little grasp of politics and human nature, or, you are hopelessly deluded. Maybe both. (Either way, to me that means that your name on any ballot is pretty much a joke.)

    I hate to be the one to tell you this but in case you are not familiar with the the way the world bees, "Money is power!" You admit that "we have already lost economic control…". That is a very major statement and may or may not be true. I think it is becoming true and more so each day, but I am not here to argue that point. Since you made the statement about Cayman's loss of economic control, let's look at the ramifications.

    Ezz, it seems you are in denial.  Pull your head out of the sand! If we have indeed already "lost economic control", then we have also lost the power to control our destiny; no amount of political posturing will make any significant difference.

    Since we are not a "wealth-producing" country (look up the concept if you do not know what that means in economic terms). We have the ability to generate "income" but to do so the Cayman Islands depends on wealth coming from outside – essentially this means our economy is highly dependent upon inward investment, i.e. expat investors and the dollars they bring.

    We cannot have our cake and eat it too. Regardless of how much we would like to think we can maintain control while also ardently wooing the inflow of foreign investment, here is the the truth: if we want to wallow in big wads of expat investor dollars, the tradeoff is that we resign ourselves to the influence their money brings.

    Here is the final analysis: The greedier we are, the more we become slaves to that greed.  We can enact all the laws we want and enforce them to Ezzard Miller's heart's content, but the fork in the road is ever before us: if we want prosperity, we must accept the very significant foreign influence that comes with the money; or we can try to maintain a hard grip on "control" and say hello to very lean times.

    And another thing…! You say that "the expected exodus of workers was irrelevant as those leaving would be replaced by others". You fail to acknowledge the social damage that the rollover imposes. In the past, even with the relatively small measure of security of tenure expat workers had by way of indefinitely renewable work permits, a portion of expat workers stayed for many years and became integrated into our society and a goodly number of those expats made investments here. Certainly a fair number of expats felt as if they had some type of stake in society. With the rollover, the expat worker is told up front that he or she will be leaving in seven years, so don't become too cozy here. This creates a formidable portion of the population who have no stake in our society; they put down no roots other than working out their seven years and in the meantime sending as much money as they can to their accounts back home. The rollover inherently creates a sizeable transient society within our land whose attitude is "Who cares? I only work here". Not good.

    And another thing…!  How is it "clear from the recent budget predictions for this financial year, which pointed to an increase in work permit revenue of some 25%, that despite Caymanian unemployment the UDP government had planned to increase permit holder numbers"? Wow! Duuude! That is a pretty far out conclusion there, man!  Okaaayy! I'll have some of whatever it is that your on, dude, because it must be some pretty powerful stuff, man!  No. Actually, I will pass on the "stuff" that you are under the influence of, thanks, because I do not want to be narcotised by the insidious substances of pure and unadulterated ego and lust for power. There are other reasons why work permit revenue could be forecast to increase, including the effects of the rollover.

    And another thing…!  Why imply that anticipation of increased work permit numbers is part of a nefarious UDP plot? Anticipation of a welcome upturn in the economy would contribute to an increase in forecast work permit numbers. Maybe the UDP planned to improve the economy and as a result prudent economic and demographic forecasting included an increase in the number of work permits looking forward.

    I dislike the UPD as much as anyone else and I think they need to go, but why manufacture such a tenuous cause/effect scenario to demonise them?  Did it ever occur to you that you can use truth and logic to make yourself look good?

    And another thing…!  (Oh, nevermind! It is a waste of time trying to reason with you, Ezz. Clearly you have your own agenda and the pursuit of truth and reason is not high on your list.)

    Anyway, Ezz, good luck in trying to make people take you seriously. You make for amusing reading, but not much else.

    • Anonymous says:

      Keep up the good work Ezz. When I see a post such as this one (Just Commentin' Thu 22/9 @ 19:02) I realize that someone doesn't want you standing up for Caymanians.

      • Anonymous says:

        Caymanians as a people need to learn how to stand up on thier own, instead of always looking for someone to prop them up…I know there are plenty of hard working and determined Caymanians who work hard to get ahead, I know some of them myself. But for many of them they just sit on thier bums waiting for soemone to hand them things, like they desearve it just becuase they are Caymanian..

        Wrong… you have to put in your dues just like everyone else…

    • Anonymous says:

      Just commentin god forbid that your most valuable employee got in an accident and was hospitalized for a long period of time, what would you do, close up and go out of business?  What would happen today if the most important person in the wrold should die would the world come to an end?  Your long and arduous argument makes no sense and you will never be able to justify your argument to anyone with an ounce of common sense.  Anyway thanks for the side showand LMAO.

       

       

      • Henry says:

        Sorry but to my mind it is your arguement that makes no sense. Are you saying that becasue someone can be tragically killed in an accident that rollover is justified….mmmmm….I think you and Mac may have had a bad cookie….

      • Just Commentin' says:

        Hmmm…??  Common sense, eh? Then this should be easy for you: What correlationdoes an accident or a death have with loosing an employee due to the rollover?  Exactly what  analogy are you attempting to make?

         

        I am giving you the rope, have fun answering the questions. But don't hurt yourself, OK?.

         

        (You sure you did not mean "LMBO"?

    • no kiddin says:

      Dear Mr. Just Commenting, If that was just commenting please don't make a speech. 

      Have you ever thought about training a few Caymanians? After all we have some very

      intelligent and hard working young people now out of work. How bout it!!!

      • Just Commentin' says:

        OK…now for the speech:

        I have done much more than just "thought about" offering training to Caymanians: over the years I have offered opportunities to many Caymanians; some have capitalised on the opportunities and advanced or have gone into business for themselves; at the very least they learned something. Others "put in time" and could not have cared less about advancing. The track record of my various enterprises for offering opportunities and on-the-job training to Caymanians – especially young Caymanians – is above reproach. Second only to that of my own children, I consider my small part in those diligent workers' success stories among my most satisfying contributions to the good of this territory.

        If I apply for a work permit it is because I need a qualified worker, not"cheap labour"; expats and Caymanians are on the same compensation scale. Expats usually do not work for me long enough to qualify for roll-over because Caymanians are hired, or they leave the islands for greener pastures. (Or they call me a bastard and quit because I work 'em too hard. Good riddance!)  Whatever the reason and contrary to Wizzard's nutty idea, replacing a seasoned employee is costly.

        I have never known "an intelligent and hard working young person" to be out of work for long. They mightn't get the job they want, but if they are not afraid of really working as opposed to just occupying space and wanting a pay cheque on Friday, with the proper attitude they will find somethingto do.  I tell 'em that hard work put callouses on my hands years before my butt put wear marks in my office chair.

        Speaking of training, there's a pervasive attitude that implies that employers have some kind of unconditional responsibility to "train" Caymanians, as if this was our absolute birthright. Guess what? It is not a right, opportunities are earned. The attitude of entitlement is disgusting and is a part of the problem roun' yah. It is equally pathetic that a local Government-run vocational and technical education facility is not yet a reality.

        My early jobs were not about me receiving "training", they were about working my ass off for meagre pay and doing whatever The Man asked me to do, and liking it, or at least acting like I did. Showing up on time and with a positive attitude, exhibiting a respectful and polite demeanor, and cheerfully putting in long hours was not considered extraordinary behaviour as it seems to be now – it was expected. I bought my opportunities for advancement with sweat. I earned a degree but the hard work and callouses did not end. Looking back, I guess it kinda paid off. There were a couple of times in life that I was "between jobs" but I've never been "unemployed". Many other successful Caymanians have a similar story, so we know the formula works.

        All my employees regardless of position understand that they will, if asked, do things like: sweep the workplace, clean the bathroom, take out the trash, run errands, clean some windows, or do whatever else might need doing – even if it means getting a bit sweaty. Possible manual labour is explicit in every job description. Call it a part of the "training". We strive to promote from within, so almost every employee starts at the very bottom, sweats and gets callouses, degree or no degree.  I hate working with prima donnas who feel it is beneath them to get their hands dirty. Lazy apathetic employees have called me a Slave Driver and an SOB on their way out the door; the diligent ones who have employees of their own now, they call me over to their table at the Ritz and buy me drinks.

        I comment because I have paid my dues (still payin'  'em) and I've earned my place do so – unlike many of the pathetic wannabees roun' yah who bitch and whine and offer little to this country but "run mout".

    • Blah Blah Blah says:

      Didnt read this it was too long winded and boring…

  10. Alan Nivia says:

    This man will say anything to pander to his core voting audience.  If he ever had one drop of power it would make the farce of the Mac's misadministration seem competent.

  11. truth says:

    “I supported the rollover provisions in the law to prevent Caymanians who have already lost economic control of our islands' destiny from also losing political control."

    Who I wonder does Mr. Millar blame for the "lost economic control of the islands destiny"?

    Also I wonder if the loss of political control of the island from those who now "control" it wouldn't be a good thing for everyone else but them.   More specifically the people of Cayman would be much better off with competent and ethical political control instead of Caymanian political control that is basically  just feeding off the people with no apparent benifit to the people or the island itself.

  12. Anonymous says:

    At 13.46 How about hiring and training Caymanians the you would have nothing to complain about. You would also save on work permit fees.

    Wait, I guess  were are all lazy no good…….

  13. Anonymous says:

    to protect the political control?

    then simply put something in law/or constitution that states nobody but he/she fortunate enough to have been born on these such wonderful blessed lands to the sons and daughters of such well-seeded indivduals of say 3 generations can ever cast a political vote…..

    and then stop the nonsense. YOu are so far detached from the business community – people on rollovers have stopped investing, as they get to 4/5 yrs in to their allotted 7, they start looking overseas, stopping big purchases, scared they'll not be able to stay…..

    the rollover is fundamentally flawed logic – think about it:

    employers would not hire people to fill jobs that dont exist….further, employers dont keep people around who cant perform.

    employers would love to hire caymanians because work permit fee's are outrageous, along with all the other negatives attached (issues with settling/etc/etc)

    therefore, build some education palaces (you know….things like an MBA school, maybe a Tourism University, really difficult things to imagine…..doh!)

    educate the locals in these new temples of knowledge, and hire them…and if they're not good enough, hire expats…but dont worry about them taking over politics because make it law that they can't vote….i dont think they'd care….the one's i talk with are genuinely happy to be here, in the sun, living healthy lifestyles…their only real concern is the constant fear of them being sent home!!!!!

    do away with term limits, period – its not going to flood the island, because the law can simply be that nobody can come here without a job……..and if you're worried about 20/30yrs later and all the cayman-born babies to non-caymanians, dont give them voting rights……simple…..i dont think they want them…..who'd want to vote for the bunch of knuckleheads on parade right now anyhow??!!

    • Anonymous says:

      We fall under the europe's human rights.  They think its a human right to expect citizenship after a number of years.

    • anonymous says:

      That is right Ezzard. I agree with you 100%! But do you know what this sudden change of heart by Mckeeva Bush is all about? Think May 2013! With everyone turning against him, & his credibility at almost zero, he is looking at anyway of getting support, even if he has to behave like a dog & eat his own vomit by seducing the very people who have turned against him because of broken promises. There was a scandal when the UDP gave away 3000 status grants, but it was mostly because of those grants that the UDP were elected in 2009, but the vast majority of those people have turned against the present government, & like the rest of the country they are fed up with the failures & scandals of the UDP government. Therefore, what better way to try & regain the support of those status holders than to promise immigration reform such as the rollover policy? However, we must still vote him out, permanently!

       

    • Empty Chair says:

      I find it very ironic that the person (Mckeeva Bush) most responsible for the rollover policy in the first place for, in my opinion, political gain (votes), is now the person who is trying to suspend "his" policy for, in my opinion, political gain (votes)!!!!!

  14. truth says:

    “I have no sympathy for firms who say they are losing half their work force,” Miller told CNS. “That is entirely self-inflicted by their own bad management and succession planning. 

    Really? Do you hear that business owners, ex-business owners, and soon to be ex business owners?  Your ability to find, keep,and afford the needed work force is YOUR fault.  It all comes down to YOUR bad managment decisions.   Do you get that tourism sector?  The hundreds of experianced and much needed workers about to be rolled over and veryhard to replace in Caymans business killing climate is due to YOUR bad managment and succession palnning.  And its all because you should have known and understood Caymans leadership stance against successful private business in the Cayman islands and planned for it.

    I'm guessing (way out on  limb here) that he thinks you should all follow CIGs business plan of hireing Caymanians over skill and experiance and not careing that nothing can get done, there is NO customer service, few show up for work, and you can only fail when the money stops comeing in and you can't borrow anymore. Still wondering why businesses cutting back,  slowing down, leaving island and going under?  Then I have no sympathy for you.

    • Anonymous says:

      “I have no sympathy for firms who say they are losing half their work force,” Miller told CNS. “That is entirely self-inflicted by their own bad management and succession planning.

      —————————————————————————————————————————–

      Inadvertantly, Mr. Miller is making McKeeva's point.  Business are fixing their "bad management" decision of choosing the Cayman Islands and fixing their "sucession planning" by moving their jobs and employees out of the Cayman Islands

       

       

    • Anonymous says:

      Skill and education but can't spell

       

  15. Jemiah says:

    Obviously this guy has no clue the cost to a business of losing trained and reliable staff – and to say that is the businesses fault – ha bloody ha!  Also if he acknowledges that the rolled over people will just be replaced by new people coming in – why roll over in the first place – you lose someone who is potentially deicated to the island with a newbie who under current circumstances couldn't give a rats about Cayman. As for the increase in revenue being an indication that the UDP planned on increasing the number of permits – could this have something to do with the almost doubling of work permits fees?? mmm I wonder? Ezzard it is easy to sit on the sidelines and critise just about everything but how about coming up with some real policies of your own that will get this country back on its feet? We are hurting out here and your anti-everything is not helping one single Caymanian. If you care some much for Cayman then release an alternate budget with detailed policies showing how you will turn the situation around  – only then will I give any credence to your criticisms of other parties policies. 

    • Absurdistani says:

      I'm afraid you've made some dangerous and incorrect assertions here. I'lltry to help.

      1. "why roll over in the first place". The goal of the roll-over policy is to control the number of people qualifying for the right to apply for permanent residency and then Caymanian status. Plain and simple, it's a population control measure. Every country/territory has similar population control measures in place to ensure the growth of the population can be effectively managed to allow infrastructure development to keep pace. 

      2. "a newbie who under current circumstances couldn't give a rats about Cayman". It is most unfortunate that you assert that new people arriving don't care about Cayman. Perhaps your view based on your own experience meeting new people coming to the island or the value you placed on Cayman when you arrived was that Cayman is only an ATM machine. However, the goal of the roll-over is to attract those highly skilled persons that also meet other criteria based on the values of the community. This is why there is a points system. The people we are looking to attract are both highly skilled and therefore deemed "key employees" that also are compatible with the values of our society. For example, they contribute to the community by volunteering with service organizations, they plan for a future in Cayman (e.g. owning property locally rather than repatriting saving and builing/purchasing a home overseas). These types of actions indicate that they do care about Cayman and therefore this earns them points in the process.

       

      I realize that Immigration issues are always highly charged issues. It's difficult to be forced to leave before you are ready to because of a job-loss or the roll-over. It is difficult to be away from loved ones. However, any reasonable person will agree that population control measures and infrastructure planning are required to maintain a high standard of living. There is a lot of mis-information that exists about the roll-over and I ask that you don't contribute to it.

      Thank you.

       

      • Henry says:

        Population control  – who are you kidding? It was implemented to control the number of Jamaicans in Cayman and to ensure that they didn't get the vote – end of story. Even your politiancs have acknowledged this.

        Also most developed nations do not have such protectionist immigration policies – perhaps you can provide some detailed analysis of other countries policies which you refer to.

        And I love how you couldn't resist the jibe about the other blogger treating Cayman as an ATM machine, I am not sure how you got this out of their comment – but a personal dig rather then concentrating on sound arguement is a sure sign of a weak argument. 

      • Uhhuh says:

        1) It's not a population control measure. It's a citizenship control measure – big difference.  Miller, and most Caymanians, are afraid of losing political contol through a voting block not entrenched in a decades-long system of vote-buying and patronage. Even if new Caymanians can't run for office, they can influence who can get in (especially in districts like George Town and soon-come Bodden Town)  Ultimately, I think this could actually help Cayman in the long term, breaking it away from a seriously dysfunctional and corrupt election process.

        2) I agree it's unfortunate that that people arriving here from overseas these days don't care about Cayman, but it's what has happened.  Talk to just about anyone trying to raise money for various charities on the island.  The rollover has created an "us vs. them" attitude on both sides. Sadly, too many new arrivals see Cayman precisely as an ATM and don't really care what it is you or anyone else is looking for in long-term residents, because they're not here for the long term.  In the meantime, a lot of good, caring, contributing expats have been run out of the place, never to come back.

        3) Population control is easier said than done. Cayman's population growth (and decline) has occurred in direct correlation with its economic growth (and decline). If you try to arbitrarily stunt population during a period of economic growth, you'll not only retard that growth, you'll lower service standards and the quality of life (to deal with a labour shortage, people have to work longer and harder).  But… I agree with you 100% that infrastructure planning is the key to managing population growth and that's something that has been sorely lacking in Cayman – always.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Agree with Mr Miller on this one.  Something going on that Mr Bush is hurrying to push this through now…….

  17. Anonymous says:

    Keep drinking the kool- aid everyone!

  18. Anonymous says:

    Agreed. 

    Whilst I do not agree with everything Mr. Miller states, you are spot on target with this one.

  19. Anonymous says:

    Go back to bed Ezzard. The only thing Caymanians need protection from is other Caymanians.

  20. truth says:

    "if the immigration laws were properly adhered to, Caymanians would be protected at work."  Maybe the problem in immigration is that the Caymanians who obviously don't properly adhere to the immigration lawsare already protected by the "you must hire unqualified and immoral Caymanians over skilled and experianced "all others".  And they are going about protecting all other unqualified and immoral Caymanians by not adhereing to immigration laws.  AND this can only be fixed by stopping this continued problem of protecting the jobs of obviously unqualified people in important (to the countrys) work areas.

    Like that will ever happen.  This is what has made Cayman what it is today.  A mess where everything is talked to death but nothing can ever be done about it.  And remember Mr. Miller that you recently quit a post because of the same reason.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Yes, Mr. Miller – why replace competent workers who are already here and if allowed to stay would maybe purchase homes etc and CONTRIBUTE long term to the economy ! Foolishness you say…sometimes fellow Caymanians shouldnt be protected at work. they should follow under the same guidelines as everyone – proper performance reviews adhered to – why protect a Caymanian worker who is abusing their privelage ? sick days, lack of efficiency…this is all created by Caymanians not doing their job – just go spend a day at Immigration and see the total lack of understanding and efficiency there…start training Caymanians and they will get the good jobs – I dont think it is always the resposibility of the expat employer to do your dirty laundry ! Dont bite the hand that feeds you…

  22. Anonymous says:

    I like Mr. Miller a lot and admire him. However, as a young Caymanian I have to disagree with him on this one. My mother was directly impacted when she lost her job as a secretary when her boss moved to another country. My sister and I had to also change school as a result of my mom losing her job and waiting 4 months to find another job.

    I agree that some of these jobs will be replaced by other expats. My math teacher was replaced by another math teacher and guess what – he sucked and my grades went down.

    Mr. Miller, you speak about losing political control. What political control? We are flying the Union Jack and a British Governor is in charge of our island. Our national anthem is still God Save the Queen.

    My family used to look forward to listening to you on Tuesday mornings. Now we just turn the radio off. You are so negative. You come up with these simple solutions that cannot solve our complex problems. I am 18 years old. I may be young but I have enough sense to know that these problems were not created overnight and as such cannot be fixed overnight.

    Deep down inside I know you are a good man and you love our island very much. But please, for the sake of all of us, open your heart and mind and stop hating all expats. So far all my teachers have been expats and they are good people who wants the best for us. Do you want me to believe that every expat meet in secret and plan to take over our island? They are here cause they want the best for their families also. Nothing more. Nothing less.

    God Bless you and keep you. Have a good day. 

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Mark my words, this kid (young adult) will be succesful in life!!! he is a Caymanian that believes you have to work to get ahead, WOW…. you DO still exist!! Whatever your name is, i KNOW you will do great things for your country..

       

      From an Xpat who LOVES this Island,  and wish more of the local youth had the same views as the kid that wrote at 11:19

    • To the young Caymanian says:

      I really wish I could agree with you, but unfortunately I used to think the way you do and then I got a real up close and personal experience with a few expats. 

      I was working at a bank and Immigration told my expat boss that I was to be trained to replace him in a few years. After that I got no training and was left out of every career development initiative. One of my co-workers was in a training session at work one day and asked the boss why I wasnt there and his direct answer was "Job protection he he he" I am not kidding. I wrote immigration and complained about this person and his permit was eventually refused. do you know what happened next? He was given status in the status grants.

      I too had many expat teachers, heck one of my own parents came here as an expat, but after going through a similar experience to the one mentioned above yet again I am convinced that there are those expats who take deliberate and calculated actions to keep us out of certain positions. I hope your experiences will be different, but mine unfortunately have demonstrated that people like Mr Miller may be our last hope.

      You should sit and talk with him and get to understand why he takes the position he does. But also consider things with an open mind. eg. You say your mothers boss was rolled over and she lost her job. that is unfortunate, but why was her fortune pegged to his? If his position was worth having at the company, he would have been replaced by someone else and the need to keep her there would have been obvious. If he left and wasnt replaced then that has nothing to do with the rollover, that is economics.

       

       

    • Anon says:

      What a wonderful post by a fine young Caymanian, who even at your young age you already have so much more common sense than many people three times your age. Good luck for the future – somehow I sense you will go far.

    • Mary says:

      What a great atriuclated response from a young Caymanian, it is good to see that your are involved and aware of the issues around you. I wish you success in future.  

    • Whodatis says:

      My good buddy friend … you say you are 18 years old but I hope you have the good sense to identify double-sided and two-faced compliments when they are sent your way.

      Re-read a few of the replies to your post and tell if you truly appreciate what some of these people are saying.

      Lastly, always be wary of anyone that tends to love you a lot more only when you defend their well being.

      Take care.

      • Jemiah says:

        I hope they also have the good sense to ignore your comment. Again you make assumptions about the intentions of others without any means of proving it. Is it that unpallatable to you that someone could have an opposing view from you?

        Shame on you for trying to rain on this person's parade. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Sad, and this does happen a lot, but why do you blame rollover? what if the boss just left? How many non Caymanian secretaries lost thir jobs when your mother lost hers?

    • Just Commentin' says:

      Wow!

       

      Knowing there are young people out there who are paying attention and are making their voice heard kinda made my day.

       

      Maybe there is hope for these islands.

       

      Thanks.

       

    • Anonymous says:

      11:19,

       

      I am also a young Caymanian and agree with most of your post; however you should ask yourself why wasn't a non Caymanian secretary released from one of the other bosses and your mother retained. This is what should happen with the current legislation but it is not being enforced. We need to stop feeling as if our existence is bound to an expat, they are here to work with us not for us to serve them.

       

      Let us not be anti non Caymanian, but lets try to be pro-Caymanian.

       

      SOL

  23. Anonymous says:

    The arrogance and hate of this man makes him a danger to Cayman.

  24. Anonymous says:

    you are wrong….. just ask any business owner…..

  25. Anonymous says:

    I couldn't have said it any better myself. Every word is true that Ezzard has mentioned, and he seems like the only one who has his head well screwed on. I can't believe that our Minister of Labor would go along with this crap, forget about the rest of the UDP cronies, but I am very much disappointed in Rolston, because i heard through the grape vine that he and Elio, Mark and Cline were absolutely against this. I can't believe they are still making the Premier control them, shame on you big men. Put your country first.

    • JUbilio says:

      A proper analysis of the impact of rollover needs to be done. We can't have people expressing their opnion on the effects of roll over  and representing them as fact.  Ezzard has his opinion which as far as I can tell is not based on anything other then his 'gut feelings'. Lets have an independent objective review of the policy and then Ezzard can comment on the findings. Isn't this logical? 

  26. Pina Colada says:

    "…expected exodus of workers was irrelevant as those living would be replaced by others."

    If the projected leavers are in the range of 6000,  would these be replaced by 6000 Caymanians, or 6000 expats? Just asking.

    • Rum and Coke says:

      The fact that IF they are replaced they will be replaced by less experianced workers is irrelevant.

      To Caymanian leadership.

      What does that tell you?

  27. I agree says:

     

    I agree with Mr Millers comments. Let’s use a little common sense here. We have seen the majority of the large firms (legal, banks, Trust and others) go through a process of reducing their staff either by layoffs or simply not renewing contracts and permits. 

    None of these "redundancies" were due to the rollover policy and were clearly attributed to the global economic crisis and were considered necessary in order to reduce operating costs. If the rollover was having such a devastating impact on these businesses why did they layoff employees?

    Secondly, lets also apply common sense to the current unemployment which was pegged at 7% in May. If 7% of our work force is unemployed that suggests that there is more labor available to do the work than there is work to be done. (again simple common sense). This means that suspending the rollover will have no real impact on unemployment, volume of business and revenues in the short or long run. 

    The real fix for unemployment would be to increase the demand for our good/services, how do we do this ? Reduce the price! It is simple economics folks. Reduce the price of tourism, legal services, banking, apartments, land, etc and demand for these things will go up, requiring  additional labor and resources to meet the demand, and the overall effect will be a reduction in unemployment, and increased revenues.

    APARTMENTS AND HOMES ARE SITTING EMPTY BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE!

    This recent move to abolish the rollover is therefore motivated by something else, and perhaps the UDP Government have somehow been convinced that this is a good idea by some "advisor" who is motivated to ensure that the people of these islands not only lose their economic position but are also weakened politically as well.

     

  28. Anonymous says:

     Re: "Miller said that if the immigration laws were properly adhered to, Caymanians would be protected at work."

    If this quote is accurate, then I think that Miller is completely out-to-lunch. Wake up! The jobs are leaving the island with the expats!

  29. Say what? says:

    This man is as bright as the north star…if you think Mckeeva bush is bad wait till this one gets power….

  30. Anonymous says:

    Well said, Mr. Miller.

  31. My2cents says:

    Miller said: "the expected exodus of workers was irrelevant" –

    Dear Mr. Miller – with respect, the Employers and the Employees disagree. Forcing the loss of experienced staff in such a manner is bound to end up with a loss of experience, a loss of continuity, and cause a substantial headache for the management of those companies to figure out how to replace their experienced andqualified staff with new staff who may or may not be up to the task, may or may not be qualified, or motivated. You cannot expect a company to welcome these kind of challenges in the exceptionally weak economic environment we have right now. Not to mention the effect on the ailing economy of losing 6,000 people who buy groceries, gas, use utilities, own a car, etc. etc. All these, directly, or indirectly, contribute to the employment of Caymanians and the welbeing of the economy of Cayman.

  32. Anonymous says:

    Easier said than done, now fix the loop holes in Immigration which have been broken for the last 2 decades.

    How about appointing a full time Immigration board with a dozen members that have multiple background experience in a full spectrum of most job fields. All they do is keep raising work permit fees and they still keep hiring the foriegners or apply for a cheaper position and put them to work. Who checks anyway, the task force has how many for how many ? I have nothing against foreigners, heck without there help and knowledge we would not be at this stage in the game.

    However our own population increasing we need to secure our future with our own people and show our people that our future is positive and secure. I warned politicions of this 5 years ago that things were getting out of control and it will get worse,but fell on def ears. Guess i am not rich or important enough to be taken seriously!

    I am sick and tired of this laid back and neglectful attitude,all you can hear is …. oh God bless, we blessed by god, if it nah broken dont fix it and so and son …Well guess what?

    To kill a tree you chop the rooyt NOT the branches

    • Anonymous says:

      I am sure the new advisory committee is bipartisan!  Like everything else UDP does.

      There never should have been a rollover policy in the first instance.  It resulted in Key Employee, which did nothing more than create a glass ceiling for Caymanians.  If the average stay of an individual on a gainful occupation license is 4 to 5 years, why on earth is there even a 7 year rollover?

      Immigration needs to do their job in properly reviewing one year work permits….perhpas we have different levels….1 year non renewable, 2 year non renewable and 5 year non renewable.  This will automatically roll out those individuals the country did not want to be eligible for status in the first instance.