Miller rejects Cayman only jobs
(CNS): A private member’s motion tabled by Ellio Solomon asking government to designated certain positions as “Caymanian only” has failed to attract the support of Ezzard Miller, the country’s most staunch protector of local employment rights. Although the independent member for North Side is well known as an advocate of jobs for Caymanians first, he says Solomon’s motion could cause problems for local business owners. The motion, which is limited in detail, is expected to come before the Legislative Assembly this week and it asks government to form a committee to recommend categories of positions or types of employment that should be preserved for Caymanians. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
Rejecting the idea, Miller said that what Cayman needs is to enforce its existing immigration law to ensure Caymanians are protected in the work place. He pointed out that by designating specific roles government would create further problems for local businesses.
“What will happen when a Caymanian is genuinely not available to take up the position?” Miller asked rhetorically. “That could cause problems for Caymanian businesses if they can’t find a local person and then are not allowed to recruit overseas. This motion won’t address the problems Caymanians are facing. What we need is to see the existing immigration laws enforced and a human resource authority ensuring that Caymanians who are available for the work get first chance.”
Although, Miller says he is in favour of anything that can assist Caymanians who are unemployed at present, he said this idea would be counterproductive.
It is not clear if the motion being tabled by Solomon and supported by government backbencher Dwayne Seymour has support from his front bench government colleagues but it is not included in an amendment government is expected to bring this week to the Immigration Law protecting carers and other domestic helpers from the rollover policy.
Although there has been some discussion about creating certain roles to be automatically designated ‘key’ and by return some exempt from key, neither the present government nor the previous administration has ever suggested making specific job titles the preserve of Caymanians.
The current immigration law provides that a work permit can only be issued if there is not a suitably qualified Caymanian available. While many employers are frequently accused of circumventing the law to avoid employing Caymanians, the refusal of work permits in some cases in order to force a firm’s to try harder to find Caymanians has been cited as one of a list of reason why some firms, particularly in finance, have relocated from Cayman.
Category: Headline News
Ellio Solomon. If I recall well, the UDP election campaign was biggin’ up expats aplenty. Why, because you all knew that the expats who had become Caymanians could tip the balance in your favour. Now that you think that you are established in power you now renege on your promises and are whip-lashing us, to now try to win more Caymanian votes for the next election. Guess what? Those same expat-Caymanians who voted you in are now itching to vote against you all because guess what, when you diss our brethren who have Permanent Residence, you are still dissing us because now we know that if we did not now have Status but only PR you would have dissed us too. Time flies. Election soon come! Roll-over Ellio Solomon!
Excellent idea!
Maybe the following positions in the Public Service should be Caymanian Only:
Deputy Commissioner of Police
Collector of Customs
Director of Labour
Chief Immigration Officer
Thanks for thinking of the Civil Service Ellio, they really need some help in there.
Wonder if Ellio would support, removing HR managers that are not native Caymanian?
Would he support having balance between native Caymanians and English as the better balance for the territory?
(Trust me, the divisive nature of many people from now independent territories are one factor being overlooked!)
When positions are held by West Indians and Canadians with status they are considered ‘Caymanian’ yet when a more qualified English person is placed there, it’s taking jobs from Caymanians? Really?
People wake up and look at who is replacing native Caymanains…not the English for sure but I thank God every night they still have a ‘little’ control.
When Ellio makes these proposals, in my opinion it is an attempt to ensure the UDP voters and future voters have jobs for themselves and their relatives secured within the civil service.
PLUS, if not passed, he will appear to have tried to help increase that UDP base…just like the salary cut proposal. Maybe Charles Clifford’s resignation was an impetus to appear to be doing something for Caymaians.
But what about the entire Employment Law? Wouldn’t it be more equitable to simply make the civil service comply with the same laws to which the employers/employees in the private sector have to follow? Then let people enforce their rights when they see fit?
But I would prefer to see more English police officers, teachers and civil servants and yes maybe place a moratorium on work permits in certain service industries and marine/hotel/watersports to be reserved for school leavers and young adults. Every year we have persons looking for jobs in those areas and I know for a fact many young men want these jobs but are refused. In my opinion, we can deal with short-term needs of our people without infringing on human rights issues.
What is the point of having colonies if UK and its people cannot extract value from them? If this type of nonsense comes to pass, the UK should let Cayman go and watch it sink.
Ellio for Premier!
The civil service needs to have certain jobs that are "caymanian only".
Very good idea!
Once problem that gets in the way of hiring Caymanians is that it is so hard to fire the bad ones, who would and should be ditched from any business regardless of nationality. Each bad apple in the employment market barrel causes a great deal of harm for a dozen others around them.
To 00:14
There are also a few qualified Civil Service workers sitting at home on there a$$$, milking the country for about a quarter million dollars a year!!!
You don’t see them out there picking garbage or other jobs….doing something for the country in return.
They are not milking anything. They would much prefer to be at their job using their knowledge to assist our country. However, they cannot because the elected persons do not want them, so they sit stuck in limbo. This is in spite of the fact that they are very knowledgeable and hardworking ladies. If they are eventually "paid off" it is our country that will suffer due to the loss of expertise. What happens when the next government is formed and they need that expertise?
Although I don’t agree with the general idea, I have to say it is a policy that is used on otherIslands and even some major countries and could have certain benefits in Cayman.
For example, I find it strange and sad that a tourist can come to Cayman stay for a week and not meet a Caymanian because their bartenders, food servers, housekeepers, divemasters and lately even cab drivers are expats. There positions do not require any special qualifications so why are there a number of Caymanians unemployed? Is it that we as Caymanians are too proud to take these jobs or is it that Caymanians are not being hired? If it is the former, then shame on us and those unemployed people deserve to be unemployed – but if it is the later, then perhaps there is some merit to certain positions in the service industry being reserved for Caymanians (see Bahamas, Barbados, etc) so that more Caymanians can get working with minimal training. The idea would obviously not work for jobs that require more than a few weeks of training.
As a Caymanian who worked in the hospitality industry for nearly ten years before moving over to finance I must say that during my time in hospitality (which ended in 2001) there just weren’t Caymanians applying for any jobs which required "hard" work (its difficult to place the exact term here but to explain – I worked in two of the major hotels here and only one other Caymanian worked in food and beverage, we were both bartenders and made great money but it was long hours, on your feet, lifting, carrying, sweating, etc. – plus we were "on stage" the wholetime which I found great fun, chatting to tourists while working and "selling" all the great things about our island to them, but some found tedious). There were a handful of Caymanians working in the back office and at the front desk and NONE in Maintenance, Housekeeping, Watersports, or any of the "dirty" jobs. I’d guess that 90% of the staff were expat.
At that time of course there wasn’t the same unemployment so perhaps it was more a matter of choice, given the option of unemployment or hard work I would hope that our countrymen would choose to roll up their sleeves but to be honest I’m not sure that is the case. Too many young Caymanians (I’m talking 30 and below) have been brought up with a sense of entitlement, I don’t know anyone that complains about the work habits of the older Caymanians (who have real jobs – not politicians, that is another discussion) but there are some who didn’t realize how hard their parents worked and just expected to have a cushy job, nice car etc. when they got out of high school (because for a while there, that did happen!)
Anyway, my point is that perhaps these jobs are looked at in the wrong light, Bartenders, Waitresses, Divemasters, etc. can make a good living (sometimes VERY good) as long as they do a good job – instead of looking at them as "servers" or the "service industry" perhaps we should remarket this industry to our youth and show them that with hard work comes opportunity, wealth and pride.
Keep safe.
Well said.
It is always a joy to read intelligent posts like this.
This is absolutely ludicrus, here you have on one hand Elio looking out for the Caymanians only, and on the other hand the Premier is telling us he is going to let all the domestics stay here forever, that’s what it means, because once you can stay here for over 8 years then you can apply for residency and what comes after that folks – CAYMANIAN STATUS. I know it was coming sooner than later Elio vs Premier. Can’t wait to hear the outcome of this scenario. Seems like trouble in the camp to me.
Prior to the influx of visitors all jobs were done by Caymanians…domestic help, tailors,gardener,investor…to name just a few.
All of a sudden you hear that Caymanians are conveniently not available.
Did anyone notice that in the places that you frequent daily, suddenly young Caymanian employees are now being intergrated into the workforce.
Please make reports with a little more detail:-
All jobs were done by Caymanians prior to an influx in immigration and the sell out of the people by its government,
Jobs:
Banking: Including Bank President and fully staffed by Caymanians
Insurance
Hotel Managers : also Front Desk Clerks, Bellman, concierge etc.
Cooks, etc.
Store Clerks
Legal Secretaries, the best and most competent in the world equipped with Pittjans Shorthand and Speedring skills together with bookkeeping and full service Secretrial skllls/Office Manager
.Caymanianians were always professionally trained, educated and experienced.
It is the sell out of the politicians that have sold our people into slavery in exchange for work permit fees and deals under the table.
The myth that Caymanians are Lazy is only a Smoking Signal sent up by X-pats seeking to plant a Flag on our land and Government Punks and Croonies walking around a "Caymanians For Sale:"sign denying them an honest living in their own country regardless of how many GCE’s or Degrees they have achieved. It is the biggest Scam, bigger than Global
Warming!
Yes the visitors want to come to Cayman for the fun, sun and the rum, but once they get here they don’t want to go back, remember Dave Martins ’80s song England cold cold cold.
Then once settled we see the true attitudes of the fellas and gals trying to make Cayman like back home.
This is not us against them rhetoric just the plain old facts as it is.
Global warming is a scam??
Of course it is, the only bigger one is Insurance premiums.
…and organized religion
Global warming has actually been proved, the world has been warming since the last ice age, all scientist world wide agree on this
It’s called Climate change and it has been happening since the earth first formed
Just shows your ignorance
What these highly qualified individuals are calling global warming due to increased Greenhouse gases. While an increase in greenhouse will cause you an increase in temperature it may be argued that it is unproven.
It in interesting that the greenhouse affect is taught to you in your first year of meteorology and most except it until recent years.
We already have what could be described as positive discrimination in the way the Immigration Law is enforced. So now they’re suggesting we make a move to simply bold and brazen positive discrimination… amazing… and they wonder why there’s so much hostility between the local and ex pat communities, yet the laws here positively encourage and fuel racial hatred, regardless of whether you are a local or an ex pat.
The biggest misconception that many who come to our country seem to make is they take the “NATIVES” for just that uncivilized, uneducated & backward NATIVES which we are not, and the funny thing is; the foolish Politicians seems to think the same exact thing, I assure you all who that think this way are now seeing and hearing that this IS NOT THE CASE.
While we are at it we should also restrict the position of MLA to people who have some intelligence….Oooops that would rule out most of the current MLA’s even those like Elio (who at one time claimed to have not one but two degrees if I remember rightly!)
You do realize that only Alden, Rolston, Mark and CG would qualify?!!!
Um, you do realize that they don’t qualify either don’t you?
It’s a great pity the goverment doesn’t follow its own regulations when it comes to the Immigration Law. I have first hand knowledge (with documentation) of an instance where a government worker from another country was re-employed when his contract was up for renewal. The government did advertise the job (as required by law), but failed to employ any of the Caymanians who applied. This was not a skilled job and I know that at least one of the Caymanians who applied had direct experience of the same job after a short term contract with that department the year previously. When questioned about it, the government department involved completely refused to answer any of the questions raised and also denied a freedom of information request. It is a tough pill to swallow for those Caymanians who are out of work and trying hard to find something to do.
By the way, no Caymanian v expat bashing here, I am an expat working in a government position who is married to a Caymanian – I see both sides of the coin!
What we need and have always needed is ENFORCEMENT.
Our Immigration laws are not bad. There are places we need some amendments but fundamentally they are not bad. What we need is enforcement of the laws.
Here’s what I mean.
Rollover was designed to assist Caymanians to move up in businesses by the grating of permits to overseas employees with the clear understanding that Caymanians be trained or hired and trained for these positions during the course of the employment of this overseas worker.
The idea is that a Caymanian within a period of 7 years SHOULD be able to fill this roll for the business. Problem is most business don’t look at it this way. They simply look at a work permit as a way to fill a position only and when the time is upand that employee is rolled over they will simply seek another.
What needs to happen is that when a grant is to be made the employer who is doing it for the first time needs to be called in and explained the concept behind the grant of the permit. During this explanation they should be explained to that they have 7 years MAXIMUM to fill that seat with a Caymanian or no further permit will be granted for that seat UNLESS there is an EXTRA ORDINARY reason. I say that because some roles could take longer than 7 years to fill like doctors or bankers. This is why "key employees" are being considered and this is one of the amendments I spoke of.
I think at 3 years a follow up meeting with the employer needs to be made to see how he/she is progressing towardsfilling the position with a Caymanian where they should be reminded of the reason why they were allowed the grant. They should also be reminded that no grants be allowed past the 7 years to that overseas employee or another other they wish to employ from overseas.
I believe there is nothing wrong fundamentally with rollover. Of course businesses do not like it. They like to operate without having their hands tied in anyway. We all know that is how business owners think but if we are to protect our own and ensure that they get the jobs they deserve then this is how it has to be.
Now we as Caymanians need to play our roles also. We need to work harder, study harder and be the OBVIOUS choice for position when they become available. We can not SIMPLY EXPECT it to be given to us, we need to TAKE IT. Nothing ever falls from the sky into your laps. You have to earn it.
But I agree with Mr. Miller on this. We don’t necesssarily need more laws. We need the ones we have enforced. Cayman has always had issues with enforcement from Immigration to Police to Customs.
Ezzard Miller has been right on alot of things. Alot of times, I run my own business and forget about how the locals helped the business from the start. I just hire foreginors to fill in vacancies where I can’t find Caymanians, but pretty much I do feel it is the right thing for Caymanians to lead in their own country. Ellio, I believe is crazy, because I can not see how I will be able to run the business efficiently if I can’t hire a foreignor now and again.
I’m afraid you are starting from a false premise. Rollover was never designed to protect Caymanians in the work place. Refresh your memory with this article:
http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/headline-news/2010/01/23/rollover-gap-shrink
Here is an extract from the article:
"She ( Sherri Bodden ) said there had been a misunderstanding about rollover and some irresponsible politicians had led people to believe rollover was about throwing foreigners off the island in order to give jobs to Caymanians. “This is not so,” she said. “Rollover was introduced to ensure that we met the United Kingdom’s laws and conventions on nationality.”"
O’Really, did you notice that this statement was after-the-fact? That is merely Ms. Bodden-Cowan’s and the UDP’s present position.
If you say so.
Seems pretty clear to me but if you wish to interpret it in a way not supported by the actual words that is your prerogative.
If you were around during the conversations when it was being laid down it was a whole different story. Article is wonderful 5 years after the fact.
YES there was an issue with the UK but there was also another underlying problem that everyone expanded on at the time and YES it was said it also served to protect Caymanians and it is the REASON why today this statement of Caymanians hating Expats came about.
If you don’t see it you will never see it. Nuff said.
I will give you my view on this issue because I don’t think it’s a matter of what I don’t see as much as what I do see.
In 2002 the CI government lost a legal case, details of which I have posted elsewhere, which ruled that the moratorium on status grants imposed in 1991 was illegal. This decision exposed the naivete of successive CI governments in relying on such a mechanism to control grants of status, because of course it masked the number of expats being allowed to live in Cayman for a period of years sufficient to meet any reasonable residency requirement for seeking status.
The decision brought into sharp focus both the problem of how many expats were now eligible for status based on residency and the problem of how to prevent this from continuing. I do not believe it was coincidence that there were mass status grants in 2003 ( to address the build of eligible expats – I am ignoring those who obtained status at that time who would not have met reasonable residency criteria, that’s a whole different issue ) or that rollover was introduced in 2004 to prevent or at least control such a build up in future.
If, as you suggest, the explanation put forward for rollover’s introduction was that it was to help Caymanians in the work place, it does not strike me as beyond the realm of possibility that this was at best a secondary consideration and at worse a lie, because the truth would have been unpalatable. Sherri Bodden’s explanation a few months ago has a ring of truth to it.
Just another point to consider. If the aim of rollover was to protect Caymanians, why are expats allowed back on island at all after they are rolled over? Almost all who come back take up the same or similar post to that which they previously held and I fail to see how this can advance the Caymanian cause in the job market. On the other hand if it’s objective is to stop an individual from being able to meet residency criteria without disrupting businesses too much, it makes perfect sense.
I’m not sure why you felt it was necessary to make the comment about Caymanians hating expats, I must have missed something.
The past have shown that what is good for Caymanians has not been good for Cayman and vise versa. There needs to be a natural balance of Caymanians that start at the bottom and work their way up and experienced expats that can keeps things running smoothly and efficiently. The almost total inefficiency of CIG to fulfill its financial record keeping, the pathetic customer service of the bloated and overpaid civil service, should in itself show the need for Expat (read skilled, experienced,good work ethic) workers to shoulder the responsibilities that a good portion of Caymanian workers can’t seem to grasp. Or you can continue to put Caymanians first before skill and let people like Bush run the island back into the stone age XXXXXX As ONLY a Caymanian can lead by example how much longer will Cayman last as a work/tourist destination? Or do you not see it going downhill? Like it or not( and most Caymanians won’t) this "Caymanians first" effort will only survive as long as there is enough extra money to pay for it. In case you haven’t been paying attention Cayman is in dept and will soon be broke because of this .
Opinions are like status every foreigner has one. Thank God we can still voice at least one somewhere.
To Mr. Only Qualified Caymanians,
this theme song of having Caymannians work their way up while experienced expats keep things running has worn thin. We must understand that this has been the cry for many years while the expat gains sufficient time to gain status and then what happens to the caymanian who has been working his or jher way up? Ask yourself the question as the expat I presume you to be, in your native land do you bow to the expat experience aren’t there laws to protect your workers, ro assist teh advancement of your workers? Why are you here how did you get here, why couldn’t you have stayed and worked in your own country? Is it because the competition was too much, or was it because you were a lil fish in a big pond, now turned big fish in a lil pond and trying to tell people how to run their affairs. Respect the land that allowed you to be here and offer constructive and nit destructive comments.
First I am not here now, I came by plane to help with the hurricane recovery, I could have stayed and worked in my own country but my skill and experience was needed in Cayman at the time and we left because we got a job offer we couldn’t refuse in the states. Cayman has lots of hands but few brains and not a very high percentage of experienced workers. Just look to your own Government and tell the world that you wouldn’t want more skill, experience and better morals in the people that are leading the country and spending your money. I have many Caymanian and Jamaican friends and they all agree that Cayman is going down hill fast and picking up speed. And why is that? If you can’t see it it is only because you lack the capacity
Excellent idea Ellio, all doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, accounts,bankers, etc must be Caymanian. Don’t listen to Ezzard, he need try hush.
Seriously? All doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, accounts,bankers, etc. must be Caymanian? You’re seriously delusional. I guess you don’t care about getting the best for the job, as long as he/she is Caymanian? Let me ask you, is your doctor Caymanian? Your lawyer?. I’m Caymanian and will be more than happy to be your doctor and make the big bucks, but you’ll have a very short painful life if I am, I can also be your lawyer too cause I think some of them make some good money too, but don’t count on getting any advise that’s helpful or legal.
Be reasonable for goodness sake and if you were being satirical then my appologies, but you should emphasize the satire more if so.
Another one misses the SATIRE completely!
If you actually bothered to look/read, then you would noticed the name as ‘S. Stirrer’ – I would have thought that was a dead give away
Think that over again Mr Ezzard. You aregoing back on what you stand for. Mind UDP trip you up.
I CAN TELL YOU –
That is not the EZZARD WAY of looking out for Caymanians! I think some of you commenters are attempting to MISREPRESENT Ezzard’s position, because some of you don’t like his stance for Caymanians.
Ezzard wants a JOB CZAR position in place that would liased with Education Department and Immigration Department to determine what kind of employees businesses and companies are looking for to see which Caymanian has earned a degree to fill in the vacant spot, and somehow make it into law that the employer who refuses to hire the Caymanian that is qualified and recommended by the CZAR be penalized to the full extent of the law.
ELLIO’S APPROACH SEEM TO BE MORE ARBITRARY. His approach is that whether a person is qualified or not, employers MUST hire him or her because they are Caymanian, and moreover, they are prohibited from hiring anyone else but Caymanian!
SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
EZZARD’S APPROACH SEEMS TO BE MORE RATIONAL! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FORCE CAYMANIAN EMPLOYERS TO LOVE UNQUALIFIED CAYMANIANS? BY MAKING THEM SHORT OF STAFF and HARDER FOR THEM TO DO BUSINESS???
Except look at Ezzard’s track record with the big-boy red phone company. He did the bidding of the powerful owners and sacrificed his own countrymen there. Ask at the immigration department. It only depends on who gives the power to him….corporate or government, either way…he plays the game.
And it’s much more fun to kick the expat out than to deny the expat a job.
PPM and UDP shut up.
AGAIN, Mr. Ezzard Miller is making more sense in the face of these two shortsighted XXXX, Elio and Dwayne. what kind of trumped up bill proposal is that anyway? Elio can’t think constructively, why did we elect him?
There is no way in the world that such a bill would be welcomed.
What happens if a business owner can not truly find a Caymanian to fill the position. His business must suffer as a result? Elio get a life!
Caymanian Business owners have rights too so Ezzard is looking out for them and the country as well. Good job.
The bill proposed by Elio and Dwayne has no legs and it is going nowhere!
The answer is ENFORCEMENT of the laws already on the books regarding labor and employment!
I hope Elio Solomon is removed from the Government soon. He likes to be heard on the radio, maybe he should have stayed with the Rooster. I have called the UDP office several times, have gotten no answer and the recording states that the mailbox for the number is full and you cannot even leave a message. Good Ole UDP. I hope the people are not snowed enough th re-elect him again. He is controversial and is a know-it-all punk, who does not belong in any government, not even that of McDinejad.
I agree with many pf the above commentors that Mr Solomon’s proposal is counter productive in the long run.
The world is changing from what we all grew up with. We need to compete with the rest of the world iin retaining business and attractingnew ones.
We Caymanians need to educate and train ourselves so that employers will make us their first choice should jobs be available automatically. Many of them know the hassles of recruiting from overseas and do so because many of us have made have not made attempts to pull ourselves to the standards expected.Once we reach those standards, all we need to is enforce the excisting immigration laws to deal with some of the rogue employers.
In the end, let us not create unnecessary new laws and regulations to patch up or cover many of our weaknesses.
how about making Caymanians "key" in the law firms, accounting firms, offshore firms etc?
The Key employee designation is for expats who are subject to rollover not Caymanians. Perhaps they should have designated them "Poochpicker" employees and you would not be making foolish suggestions.
I hope the General Public will have the opportunity to air their views on this, perhaps on one of Cayman 27’s new talk shows. We have come to a sorry pass when our politicians feel the need for a motion like this. I don’t support it, but I certainly understand it having seen up close what expatriate employees are doing to demoralise young Caymanians.
Perhaps draconian measures are our last resort, goodness knows neither the Labour Department or the Immigration Department are much use.
So who is listening to the voices of young unemployed Caymanians crying in the wilderness, and don’t give me any spiel about us being lazy and not wanting to work. Every day Caymanians are discriminated against in their own country in favour of expatriate workers, and those who could do something about it just turn a blind eye. It’s a disgrace.
Caymanians do have LAZY people. Lazy people are everywhere. You have lazy Hondurans, lazy Jamaicans, lazy Filipinos, lazy Canadians, and even lazy British people. Just look in the Police Force and you will see lazy people from the UK… So you have lazy people everywhere…
These employers are using the Cayman lazy song, just to hire people for CHEAP LABOR!
Cheap Labor is real. Americans travel overseas and do it in other countries that are poor. Carribean nations also suffer from the claims that their young ones are being lazy. This is all SWEEPING GENERALIZING claim to support their exploitation.
In Honduras, you have CHEAP LABOR everywhere by foreign companies. It is all in making a profit and the government tolerates it, because these foreign companies (rich like Dart) have power and influence over the political process.
The slogan – CAYMANIANS ARE LAZY will never go away! People will do whatever to make the extra buck, my friend
This and the other headline, "Helpers to skip rollover", as well as having multiple definitions of "Caymanian", "Status Holder", "eligible to run for office", "Permanent Resident", "Key Employee", etc. is more proof that we need to stop putting band-aids on a broken leg and permanently dump the fatally flawed immigration law.
Let’s quit trying to fix something that worked 40 years ago, but does not make sense anymore.
The case to be made for Caymanians in the work place is not one of forcing issues down the throat of businesses but creating an open dialogue with them to once and for all determine how and not when we are going to ensure that Caymanians with the aptitude can not be marginalized in our own country.
The dialogue must include this misnomer of key staff positions which if to be continued must not only have a Caymannian identified to be trained to reach a similar role here or in another of the companies branches or offices(obviously if it is a multi-national/office company). In all cases where Caymanians can be or are in the work force, there must be a training program that is in place and/or developed to allow caymanians to be trained to the standard required with the neccesary follow-up by the labor department on progress on a periodic basis. People need to be trained.
A great part of the problem with the Caymanian aspiring fror higher roles in the work place, is that insufficient training is provided and caymannians progress where applicable is not guided. Rather, it is expected that the Caymannian if he or she has a degree that they must have experience which companies seem to be reluctant to provide knowing full well that a degree only shows that you have completed studies in a body of theory and its only through application of that knowledge that experience can be gained.
THere needs to be a dialogue, there need not be this continuos bashing and fermentation of a divided society. We are in the 21st Century and yes we Caymannians are intelligent people willing and capable of handling varying positions as many have done in various facets in the market place , as many of our men have done who have mastered ships and engines and trades without a degree. It s time that the dialogue be made sensible and not reactive, it is time that those who we have invited to our shores to live and make a living with us be engaged in constuctive dialogue. By putting in continuos legislation without concrete dilaogue none of our caymanian emplyment needs are being met. Lets find a solution to how and when these needs are to be satisfied,
What MLAs should do is to improve the educational system and encourage Caymanians to take further studies, finishing degree courses, taking masteral degrees so there will be a lot of Caymanians qualified for any type of jobs. Thus, there is no need for businesses to look far!!
The problem right now is that there are a lof of caymanians not qualified to do the job. and although some are qualified, they dont stay in a particular company for long, they always switch jobs leaving the company with no choice but to hire expats.
We must also admit that Caymanians are not serious in their job because they know that they can always resign and look for a new one. That is why we should encourage open market, open hiring and open competitiveness in order to help caymanians to love their jobs, and become hardworking employees.
"Thus, there is no need for businesses to look far!!" Idealisitic and demonstrably untrue, for two reasons. A 30,000 population and the IQ bell curve.
The problem with that thinking is that it leads to prejudice where it is assumed that no Caymanian can be as competent as someone from a country with a much larger population. It leads to the conclusion that black people shouldn’t be hired because as a group they score lower on the IQ bell curve. It does not take account of outliers.
The truth is that we are not competing against the top 5% in those countries.
"We must also admit that Caymanians are not serious in their job because they know that they can always resign and look for a new one. "
Can we please state SOME because I sure as hell value my job and I give 110% every day.
Many people on these boards are ignorant also but I don’t say everyone on here is an idiot. Some Jamaicans steal but they are not all theives. Stop generalising us all as lazy and ignorant. Some of us take our jobs very serious and give all we have.
I can’t speak for all Caymanians on here but I know it’s more than just me out there working and giving my company all I have.
I am growing rather tired of hearing "All Caymanians are Lazy", "All Caymanians are stupid", "All Caymanians…..". We are NOT ALL THAT WAY. In fact I would say it’s probably a MINORITY than a MAJORITY. Thing is the MINORITY always has a louder voice.
In life you always remember the bad over the good. Think of how things works in many jobs. Do 50 things right and 1 thing wrong and you tell me which one is remembered. Same goes in everything in life. Mistakes are always highlighted.
We need a better eduication system YES. We need to identify where the work is in our society and work towards enhanced studies in these fields to not place Caymanians in job but COMPETENT Caymanians.
Just stop the painting everyone with the same brush.
Dred – I don’t always agree with you, but you are spot on.
The hard truth is, there are a LOT of jobs involving less than enjoyable work conditions, or perceived subserviancy, that a large number of fellow Caymanians will not work in.
It is near impossible to find a prevalence of Caymanians in any of the following positions:
Garbage Men
Landscapers
Restaurant Servers
Cashiers
I personally have worked in all of these areas, and was usually alongside permit holders. No, they don’t always pay well, and yes, the conditions may involve manual labor in hot conditions – but it is a hell of a life lesson to work your way up!!! Not one of my fellow employees today can ever tell me I do not understand how hard their work is – I have made a point of getting in alongside them at every level to prove noone is above any work.
And before the salary card is played, let’s just look at a few positions – servers and wait staff in a restaurant or commissioned employees… These positions do NOT pay well – you are right – BUT your overall compensation is DIRECTLY reflected by the enthusiasm and hard work you put in. Sure, some days you will work a long hard shift at a restaurant only to be stiffed by a few tight customers – but for the most part, if you are fun, enthusiastic and perform well, you will find our generally more affluent customers will tip well.
How many kids today spend their summers bagging groceries? Is it because the major chain I worked for only pays a dollar an hour (or did back when)? Sounds pitiful. BUT – did you know that if you bag up the groceries with care and attention and offer to carry them to the car, most people will throw a dollar or two your way? It is true – and I regularly earned over $10 an hour doing this… But the few baggers there are today want to throw your stuff in haphazardly and send you on your way. A little effort goes a long way!!
So we get to fixed income jobs like landscapers and garbage men. Not too many tips given here – but as a Caymanian, you are not tied to this one job. You can find part time work on weekends and in the evenings in restaurants and bars… An expat does not (legally) have that option. Yes, it is hard work, but hard work goes a long way in life.
So, my fellow Caymanians, let’s stop blaming everyone else and put that effort into the opportunities that are out there. You may be surprised by how far you can go.
On another note, we should learn from the experience of our neighbors… In the Bahamas, the focus was put on education and training a long time ago. When the banking industry all but pulled out, jobs became more competitive and those that worked hard and performed, succeeded. Today, there is pride in being in the tourism, restaurant and hotel industries. The vast majority of people a visitor meets in their hotels and restaurants are hard working Bahamians. These are not positions that are looked down on. They are jobs that are relished. Sure, you may not own a Rolex, drive a BMW or live in a mansion – but you have a job, an income, and pride in yourself for putting in a good honest day’s work…
The young ‘baggers’ who have assisted me in Foster’s at the airport have been helpful, very polite and very smartly dressed – their pants are not around their knees, to put it politely:)
Yes, they get a few dollars from me each time because after all they could have been out doing something less positive and less constructive.
‘Baggers’ fan:)
Fellow Caymanian, I give you two thumbs up, you got it right. Many Caymanians believe if they can’t get a blue collar job, there is nothing more they can do, which is a total sham and people then call them lazy. I started working from the age of 15 as a bagger, yep it was just $3.50 an hour including some tips, but at the end of the day, I made the money from the sweat of my brow to start my savings at a young age. Then after leaving school, my first job was a shelf packer at a Supermarket and I work my way up to becoming a Supervisor in the Dairy section. My ambition was to always keep working my way up and making my own money, for I have not ever once tell myself back then, that if I can’t get the job that I wanted, that there was no other job for me. I have landed in many different jobs before I got where I am today. So for Caymanians to blame expats for taking their jobs, the expats only takes the job that they didn’t wanted, for it was not a blue collar job that they always seek. In this world and time, take whatever job you can get and do it to the best of your ability, until better comes along, if only you don’t see a future in the job that kept you secured. this is my advice to the young Caymanians. Fellow Caymanian, I must once again commend you on a great post, for you really see the big picture, and I hope many young Caymanians take these advice and run with them and achieved whatever Gold they can achieve in whatever job they do.
Nothing like keeping your own people down !
Another stupid idea. Yea, lets designate certain jobs for Caymanians only – let me guess they would be those in the hospitality services like bar tending, front desk, customer service, taxi drivers, housekeeping etc.
Like theres not enough tension between the expats and the Caymanians now let’s fuel the fire and take it up a notch. More Caymanians hating expats because Caymanians will now occupy ALL the low paying jobs. This is a brilliant idea ! Lets feed the ignorance.
This government needs to wake up!!!! Stop pushing our kids through your second rate educational system. Caymanian children need a QUALITY EDUCATION and well recognized COLLEGE on island so they can climb the corporate ladder, not stay at the bottom of it ! If Caymanians are ever going to dominate the majority of the high powered jobs they need a BETTER EDUCATION !
Please, stop hating on the expats, because the truth is if our children were as well educated … they would not be here.
I so agree with you, however, Miller is the main cause of this era’s hatred towards Expats and as a Caymanian, I would love to have seen this exercise debated publicly and for Caymanians to come to the realization that we need skills, not protectionism.
Miller has said repeatedly, as others have said here, that as long as there are work permits Caymanians must not be unemployed. That if he was the Premier he would walk into businesses and the first work permit holder he found would have to give up their job for the unemployed Caymanian. I personally have had enough of the lying politicians.
Anon
You deliberately mischaracterize Ezzard Miller because you don’t like him. Hence, you and your seemingly 19 followers blame Ezzard for the hatred towards Expats.
So here’s the joke! You are saying – because I ensure that my own household have a plate of food over my guests for a day, that I HATE the guest over my family.
:o)
That is how absurd you argument is! Wouldn’t you look out first for your household???
You cant blame Ezzard,they themselves & a long bad parent government is to blame. Like one poster said “lil fish in a big pond” who exploit hard to miss preferencial treatment. Housing paid for,car,but yet a Caymanian cant have a adequate salary? Rubish. & they know how intricly “cushie” they have it here & here to re-invent the wheel. Thus they “intricly” try to keep it that way. We are at odds with many but not all of them. On the surface & in many genres smooth and well intentioned,but look at some a little closer.Woe!
Well I know Selita impresses me! Now, your attempt at a statement here in defense of Ezzard, that does not impress!!! What are you attempting to say in that second paragraph?!! That Ezzard is protecting his family business?
This song that you foreigners keep singing about Caymanians being uneducated, not willing to work hard etc is now worn out and assaults my ears. Let me acquaint you with reality! Many very ambitious and smart Caymanians have spent years abroad acquiring degrees, some to Masters level, gain experience whilst abroad and return here expecting a good job but are instead turned away. It is this frustration that is fuelling the growing anti expat feeling here but it goes two ways because the foreigners hate us equally. Prayerfully I hope for resolution before it is too late.
I don’t hate anybody! It’s unhealthy!
Nothing like keeping your
You know this is starting to really tee me off. You claim to be "Caymanian Heart & Soul" yet you seek to attack Caymanians as a whole and basically say we are ignorant.
There are many of us out there bussing our a@@es everyday and many of us who are educated or gaining education. Do not sit there and paint us all with the same brush because NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO you will find ignorant people and lazy people. I ask you to pick ONE SOCIETY that does not have these.
Do us all a favour and migrate somewhere if you don’t like your own people.
We have issues, we all know that and we have a weak education system but instead of BEATING US down why don’t you invest all that PENT UP energy into doing something about it.
As a PROUD Caymanian I will not stand to be called a fool any longer. Many of us are educated. Do not paint us all with the same brush. I do not sit and call all Jamaicans theirves because I know that many are hard working people.
So before you write "This Just Goes To Show How Intellectual Caymanians Are" think twice.
Dred, I think you misinterepted. No one was referring to Caymanians as ignorant. The ignorance they were referring to is the hatred between the expats and the Caymanians.
Perhaps you need to learn to relax.
First and foremost we don’t hate foreigners.
The average Caymanian does not hate foreigners. They have made us what we are today. All we Caymanians want is a chance to succeed in our own country. We believe that at the end of the day this is our home and we should have a right to a job should all things be the same.
This Caymanians hate foreigner is crap rhetoric only. It’s like Big Mac shouting we are broke. It’s said to garter a response and it’s the silly people out there taking and running with that.
Let me state this categorically. Caymanians on the whole DO NOT HATE FOREIGNERS.
ALL WE HAVE EVER SAID IS GIVE US A CHANCE!!!
Go through the forums and read every article you can find and see how many post you find that someone has said I hate foreigners or even I can’t stand foreigners. We have more issues with the companies who discreminate against us.
This law is not about HATING ANYONE. It simply makes it harder for people to stay here long enough to become residents and at the same time helps to allow Caymanians to get jobs.
Again I do not support give because he is Caymanian only but if two people are coming for a job and both are equally quialified the Caymanian should get the job everytime.
Thank you as well, and Dred just chill…
I totally agree with Elio in this regard. The lack of Caymanian’s comprehensively employed is 80% why our tourism product has been insignificant recently. After all “The Authentic Cayman Experience” is what produced unprecedented return visitors year to year. “Solomon’s motion could cause problems for local business owner’s”. Rubish. The talent is here & in the eye of the beholder. Business owners should calculate the total lost with work permits & contrast that in paying a Caymanian a salary that reflects fairness & economic consideration. It’s not that Caymanians were never interested in jobs. But not many are going to slave for grossly inadequate wages.
What you signally fail to recognise is that local business owners don’t WANT to employ Caymanians, because they can get away with paying Filippinos and other expats far less (and yes, they’ve done the sums re work permits).
As one local business owner expressed it, expat business-owners should be forced to hire only Caymanians, whereas Caymanian business-owners should hire expats, to the give the Caymanian business-owners the financial advantage. Genius.
(I’m not sure he’s read the laws re ownership of business recently, but never mind…)
There is no need for this. Any Caymanian who wants a job can get a job. This stupid proposal would only cause significant wage inflation and broader inflation in Cayman.
Oh really? For your information there are severl well qualified, willing and able Caymanians out there who have been unemployed and cannot get jobs.
You ended your sentence a little early…
I think you wanted you need to say "cannot get jobs they want…"
As a Caymanian, I know that if you want work, it is out there – you just may have to cut your salary expectations, muscle down and do something you don’t necessarily want to do.
Trust me employers are sick of the russian roulette of work permits and rollover. It is hard to find good employees, Caymanian or Expat. What employers are looking for is an honest, employee who has a positive attitude, shows up on time and clean and tidy and doesn’t abuse the situation they are given.
The most successful Caymanians I know are those who are at work when they are told to be, perform above and beyond that which is asked of them, do not abuse sick and vacation time and are not constantly looking for the next best thing and jumping ship.
The Caymanian that job hops, spends their day doing personal errands, is always complaining and is not presentable and enthusiastic is doing EVERY other Caymanian, including myself, a disservice as it gives employers a reason to worry they will hire someone with a similar attitude.
The ONLY advantage to having an expat is they are tied to that company and that position. If you tie yourself to your position, work hard and are honest and presentable, then any employer in their right mind would hire a Caymanian. It is less cost and if they stay with the company there is less training and uncertainty.
who are they and why don’t they go the the labour board?
Sounds like Super Tuesday Rooster Ezzard refuses to ante up when the chips are on the table.
Many people talk a good game until they are actually called on to do something concrete for their people.
It will be interesting to listen to his spin on this issue and remain a hero to the Cayman people without supporting this idea.
Of course, there is one position that is already "Caymanian Only", that is the position of MLA…….
And that’s the only requirement. Sounds like we’ll be seeing a lot of new candidates in 2013…
I know I can’t wait to run!
At the rate things are going we all might have to run……. off the island!
And we see how well they have performed!!!
Once again the special interests have gotten to people.
We need to see what is happening in Bermuda now to see where we are heading if the rights of Caymanians are not protected.
http://bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=270&ArticleID=47906
To say I am disappointed with Ezzard , who I thought all along had the Caymanians at heart would be the understatement of the year!
Don’t shoot the messenger, think about the message is my two bits.
Ezzard i know you are totally wrong for not supporting Ellio.
AND I KNOW YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG FOR NOT SUPPORTING EZZARD… you and your vote-straight for UDP to save the world from economic recession!
HA!
Very interesting! Something must have happened in his own life and circumstances or family to make him realise his neanderthal views on the extreme brilliance of every single Caymanian employee are flawed.
Yes! He was born!!!
Flip Flop Miller!!!!
Mr Miller is building a following that list him as the Caymanian champion. Sothis move is confusing some. However please ask your selves if there is a specific job in the Cayman Islands that should be designated only for Caymanians.
Bankers – need qualified personel which we may not have
Cleaners – not a lot of Caymanians want to be one
Firemen – resonable I guess
I think Miller relizes that that this kind of law is a trap for Cayman. Sooner or later all kinds of legal issues could pursue. Someone asked earlier what happens if no Caymanian wants the jobs that are assigned and what if expats start to have the mentality that Caymanians are supposed to do only jobs that are assigned.
That is not the point here. The point here is that this MLA is responsible for causing the resurfacing of tremendous hatred between the Caymanians and Expats with his Tuesday morning show and here he is refusing to even support the forming of the committee to investigate the possibility of identifying these positions. He has been the "Caymanian Champion of labor" from the election and continued after being elected, here, when the tire meets the road we find him to be impotent. Politicians have to stop misleading the people. Miller has misled his followers at the expense of many like me and now, we all find, he never supported his very draconian statements. He has after all, himself, married Expat women. Now I hope that his followers will see he misled them and their issues were never of concern to him.
By the way, as a Caymanian married to an Expat for the last 15 years, I no longer listen to any of the Hurley group stations, the Expat bashing and use of the “N” word was enough for me. Anyone, who can excuse his behavior, is as bad as he is. You all try explaining hate to your 12 and 15 year old children when they say, “But our Dad is an Expat, is that man talking about our Dad?” having heard him on one of his tirades on that show.
Thank you CNS for allowing me to finally express my views about this person.
We could create 50 laws but if none are enforced what’s the point.
All Mr. Miller is saying is this. We have laws in place already that deals with this issue. We don’t need another law we simply need the laws we have enforced. Currently to get a work permit it requires that the employer feature the 2 ads in the newspaper. If no Caymanian applies for the job or if the ones that apply do not qualify then the job can be offered to someone from overseas.
This is fundmentally enough protection if the matter is enforced and checks are made. We really don’t need to create more red tape than we already have. We could use ways to aid enforcement but that’s where it should end.
The problem is there is no way for Immigration to verify what applications were received by the company. They simply don’t know if they did in fact receive good applications. If the company is HELLBENT on hiring foreign then of course Immigration will never see any good applications.
I have a possible solution that should be looked into but it is dependent on technology to accomplish.
Here’s my way of dealing with the ads and work permits.
1) Create an email address for Caymanians to submit applications to
2) Caymanians who are applying for jobs featured in the local paper should copy applications to this email address stating clearly:
a) Prospective employer
b) Position applying for
c) Date of newspaper ad
3) Immigration department would make arrangement with local newspaper (if not already made) to receive local paper daily.
4) Applications received from Caymanians should be filed in the company file (Paper or electronically).
5) When companies file for work permit file should be checked or if in system file should get flagged for issue automatically.
This I feel will keep some business honest and ensure Caymanians get a chance at jobs first. Obviously some businesses will try to find ways to circumvent this but Immigration simply needs to ENFORCE it.
People this is not about being Anti-Foreigner. It’s simply about ensuring that qualified Caymanians get jobs. It’s about good commonsense. If the Caymanian is not employed he will be a strain on our system for aid or create possibly a foreclosure at a bank. He may also have debts which he/she now can not pay which may help to clog up our legal system. These are the reasons why any country with half a brain tries to protect it’s locals to some degree.
Let me also be clear I am not saying put someone with high school educationinto a CEO or Lawyer or Accountant position. I only speak of qualified Caymanians in positions that is right for them.
What? No jobs for my inlaws out of Cuba? Are you mad Elio?
I cannot believe that Ezzard would not even support the motion to form the committee to look into this. Sold. That’s all I can say. Sold.
When I say Flip you say Flop people!!! All the Tuesday morning "Its their fault" and "as long as there are people on work permits Caymanians will not be unemployed" Rooster crap whipping the unlearned Caymanians into a frenzy and what?!!! Flip Flop!!!
Ya all still want him as Premier?!!!!
When I say Flip you say **** Ezzard!
People lets just face it, even this XXXX Sarah Palin Miller now gets it, we are not on this planet alone and we need outsiders to help drive this economy and we need to reform our education system, more importantly, we need as individuals to place education as a priority. Not trips to Miami.
CNS,
How do I nominate the headline title for submission to the "Comedy Comments" section?
:o)
go back to sleep elio…..your out of your depth….
and so is Sarah Palin Miller!!! Two of a kind!!!