TLEPs getting only 45 days
(CNS): The more than 1,500 ex-pat workers holding term limit exemption permits that were due to leave the country next month have only been given an extension of 45 days from when they expire, the premier explained Thursday. Despite what he called the propaganda surrounding this issue, Alden McLaughlin has made it clear that all TLEP holders must apply for permanent residency before 9 December. During that 45 day time period their employers will also need to apply for new work permits and to advertise every one of the posts, opening them all to local workers. The country’s new leader said that if there are Caymanians willing and able to do the jobs, permits will not be granted and the ex-pat workers will still have to leave.
However, McLaughlin told a packed room of Chamber members Thursday that around 900 of the TLEP holders were in low paid, low skilled jobs that had not been of interest to local people and that kicking out all of these workers next month instead of taking steps to regularize their status would not translate into 1,500 new jobs for Caymanians.
“The view has also been put abroad that if these 1,500 TLEP holders were sent home that 1,500 Caymanians would find jobs immediately,” he told the gathering at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Lunch yesterday
“The truth is that of this number over 900 are for jobs as domestics, gardeners, caregivers and other jobs which Caymanians have clearly demonstrated they have no interest in filling. It is also worthy of note that, in effect, the TLEPs are only being extended for 45 days, to December 9th. During this period the jobs will have to be advertised in the usual way and Caymanians will have ample opportunity to apply for these jobs. If a Caymanian is willing and able to do the job, a new work permit will not be granted to the TLEP holder,” he assured the audience.
With controversies mounting over the proposed changes to immigration and the plan to allow this group of workers to stay, McLaughlin explained the motivations behind the decision to allow all TLEP workers to stay past their already extended term.
“The previous government legislated this category into law and ought to have acted on the report it commissioned to regularize the status of this group,” he noted, outlining what his new administration was faced with. “On coming to office, we quickly realized that the term limit for the TLEPs expired on October 28th and we would have to resolve the problem.
“There are just over 1,500 people who fall into this category, all of whom by October 28 will have been living here for more than seven years. In the interest of fairness, the committee who reported to Cabinet on the TLEPs found that it would be discriminatory to treat them any differently than other work permit holders and that time spent here should count towards the eight year requirement that already exists in the law as the point at which an application for permanent residence can be made,” he added.
McLaughlin also warned, as he had at the time when former premier McKeeva Bush proposed the TLEP as a solution to the problem of a mass exodus of more than 2,000 workers, that there was a real possibility that government could be sued. He said there was a danger of legal action on human rights grounds if government allowed a discriminatory system to prevail.
“It was therefore thought advisable to let the new system work to determine whether the TLEPs would be eligible for permanent residence status rather than to expel more than 1,500 people all at once at the end of next month,” he said. “The last thing the country can afford at this time is a rash of law suits claiming human rights abuses. Our reputation in the international community is still too fragile to take this risk.”
With the entire immigration system being overhauled, the new law will allow anyone who comes to Cayman and stays here long enough the right to apply for PR. Only following a PR application refusal that a worker would be forced to leave. If they are fortunate to succeed they will be allowed to live here permanently, if they follow the law, and then go on to apply for status.
He emphasised that under the new regime the pass mark for PR would rise to 60% from current 48% of points available as the process became more robust. Plus, the fee was increasing from $250 to $1000.
With the TLEP issue being tied directly to Cayman’s growing unemployment problem in the public domain, McLaughlin tried hard at the luncheon to dispel that notion as he also pointed to action that his government was taking to address unemployment.
Phase 2 of the immigration changes are expected next year and these will address the work permit process and the recruitment of foreign workers when locals are available, which the premier insists is where the problem lies and not with the workers who have been here for many years. The PPM government is also focusing on the National Workforce Development Agency, which has taken the brunt of criticism as it has appeared incapable of matching unemployed Caymanians to the more than 22,000 jobs out there currently held by ex-pats.
McLaughlin said the Progressive government was taking a proactive approach to placing Caymanians in available jobs through a re-invigorated agency.
“The agency has a diverse, multi-dimensional series of placement and training programmes, some in partnership with private enterprise, that cover the needs of a wide range of clients who register with them,” he told the Chamber members, but he also noted the part they could play.
“I therefore urge you, as employers, to participate in their programmes and use the services they provide to find Caymanians to fill vacancies you may have in your businesses. Of course, if you can give the government the commitment to each employ at least one new Caymanian over the next six to nine months, this would go a long way to reducing unemployment,” he pointed out.
See list from immigration of posts filled by permit holders – TLEPS are coded as WTG WTR.
Interested parties are urged to contact immigration or the NWDA if they wish to apply for any of the posts currently held by TLEPs.
Category: Politics
perhaps a silly questions but what happens to those "key employees" now? do they have to reapply or apply for PR or..are they just allowed to be key employee until 9 years until they apply? from what i understand "key employee" no longer exists as determined by the employer..
If they haven't done so they can apply for PR once they pass 8 years same as everyone else.
Very nicely said. So very true; every word of it.
The only reason I moved to Cayman, and stayed for as long as I did, was for the climate. I would have loved to remain, and continue investing in the islands, but the racist, unwelcoming attitude from the 'silent minority' got to me and I had to leave.
I wish only the best for Cayman and her people, but sadly, I see no better future there than in most small-minded caribbean nations.
Educate your people now, before it really is too late.
The climate is great. If you are an iguana.
Well said brother, don't expect intelligence to come out of ignorant people. And I am in no way saying the Caymanians are ignorant, there are ignorant people all over the world of different shades and colors yet the same nonsense and excuses come out of their mouths..
Okay, I've been following these posts and stories for some time now and biting my tongue but I can't hold it in any longer.
I like the comment that employers have had the past two years to sort out what to do with their TLEP holders and it's no one's problem but their own if these employers now lose the employees because of waiting until the end to do anything.
Hmm.. so Caymanians have had the last 9 years to get suitably trained and to apply for my job and any other job on island if they want it but apparently the solution to unemployment is rollover?? Every single permit renewal my boss has to show that no one even remotely qualified has shown any interest in my job. Why is it the duty of an employer to train people to the bare minimum standard to do a job? I was taught growing up about the labour market. To get a good job I would have to compete and that means education and experience and working my way up. This is exactly what I've done.
Start as a dish washer or a busperson. Move up to server. Learn how to bartend. Become a shift supervisor. Ask to be night manager apprentice. Show your stuff and progress. No one is holding back Caymanians but Caymanians themselves who do not wish to put in the time and effort it takes to learn a career. Careers aren't just given, they are earned through hard work, sometimes at modest pay to start.
Those that are unemployed would do well to look around them at all the Caymanians who have seized the opportunties this island has to offer to get education, find work and move up the ladder. There are loads of examples of driven, entrepreneurial, hard working Caymanians who have done very well here. Why should business owners shoulder the burden of employing those who haven't got the decency to even show up half the time and lose hard working employees who have dedicated 7 or 9 years to this island? A sure way to fail in business is to be forced to hire employees based on culture, nationality, gender, race or the like instead of the only criteria that truly matters which is ability.
Stop blaming everyone else for this problem. The root of the problem has to do with education, work ethic and a sense of entitlement. Plain and simple.
Any Caymanian that wants work only has to walk into a gas station and ask. There is no need for the pump attendant to get rolled over to make a job vacancy for a Caymanian. Caymanians are entitled to that job already. I pumped gas when I was young. I learned customer service, work ethic, howto use a cash register, how to make change. I didn't stay for life. I took those skills and moved on. Now I am at manager level in a different industry. It took 10 years to get here.
What about turning down beds in one of the multitude of hotels here on island? Start there, move up to supervisor, then manager. Oh wait, let me guess.. can't move up because there is prejudice and bias against Caymanians in the workplace? Always some one else to blame.
I guess I can understand the frustration. Being told from day one that this island is yours and that these jobs are yours, only to get one and be totally overwhelmed and unable to do the work because your education system failed you and didn't teach you even the most basic reading and writing skills necessary to survive in a competative global labour market.
Okay.. enough venting. I'll leave when my time comes and never look back. I'm sick of feeling unwelcome (CaymanKind my ass) and resented for taking a job no one else wants or can even do. How about a thank you for the 8 years of inputs into your economy? No? Okay, nevermind. Bye.
Very nicely said. So very true; every word of it.
The only reason I moved to Cayman, and stayed for as long as I did, was for the climate. I would have loved to remain, and continue investing in the islands, but the racist, unwelcoming attitude from the 'VOCAL minority' got to me and I had to leave.
I wish only the best for Cayman and her people, but sadly, I see no better future there than in most small-minded caribbean nations.
Educate your people now, before it really is too late.
The Premier is afraid of being sued. How about doing something for the people who have been here for 10, 15 yrs who have not been regularized? These people are the family members of Caymanians/Status holders? These people should come before the 7 year TELPs whocame in 2004, and 2005.
Cayman wants to be a global player but the government has a local attitude. Want to still be a international financial player you need to recuit the best and brightest. Train your local team to compete globally and do not settle for mediocracy.
On the street we are hearing firms are not getting permits for "quailifed accounts and lawyers". If this goes on we are in major trouble.
Also, I do not see the point in letting 900 domestics, and gardeners apply for PR. They can easily be replaced. Why would you risk a chance importing and retaining poverty and a undereducated class?
They can easily be replaced by just you? The whole reason they are all here is that Caymans undereducated class is also too lazy to do the jobs period. Thats the facts. Everyone knows it. Dispute it all you want. 900 employees and 900 employers can't be all wrong. If your too lazy to train then your still too lazy to work.
Replaced by 900 other overseas nationals who are waiting behind the 900 low level TELP's. I see no point in allowing them to apply for PR and have a chance to stay.
I am not going to replace them, I received status years ago and have made my money.
There are some really disturbing neo-colonial thoughts behind your post. Why are you giving examples with Caymanians only in low-level service jobs like gas station attendent, housekeeping and barman? While there is absolutely nothing wrong with an honest day's work I am tired of hearing things like those are the "Caymanian jobs". They are jobs available but should by no means be looked at as roles that Caymanians should be confined to to serve the high-earning tourists and expats. This is not post-WWI Africa or India!
Caymanians are suffering from this neo-colonial mindset and are being kept out of the higher paying management jobs and are being bashed with comments like they have an "entitlement mindset" and has been labeled not good enough because the "don't have the right experience". The goal-post is constantly being moved and I call Bull____! Most jobs in Cayman are not super-sophisticated and many Caymanians will perform well if given the chance. Unfortunately, there are and have been for decades expat hiring managers that have been and still are actively trying to keep Caymanians out of their firms and out of certain roles if they do get in.
At no point did I say that being a gas station attendant was a "Caymanian" job. I just said that it was a starting point. I AM an expat hiring manager and for the past four years have been looking for a Caymanian to hire. I found one who is doing a good job but of course this one is only a paper Caymanian so that doesn't count right? The applicants I've seen are unemployed yet complain about the low pay. Surely some pay is better than no pay? One wouldn't even come to the interview because of other plans to go to the beach. I'm not holding these people back as a hiring manager. How can I hire someone who won't even come to the interview and who submits a resume full of lies? It seems to me that you proved my point by saying that Caymanians shouldn't have to work low level service jobs. Clearly not, because they are entitled to better.
Oh, the reason why I used those examples is because the people that I have had direct contactwith in my role as ex-pat hiring manager are people who have no training, no experience, nothing on their resume, no post-secondary education etc etc.
They have to start somewhere. Applying for a job that requires training and experience isn't the place to start. When given a plan for how to get employed here, do you know how many take up the advice and follow through? None. Then the labour board tells us that our requirements are too high, despite having dropped the requirements by comparison to the industry standards. We are told that we should make it easier for Caymanians to get the job. Keep in mind, the applicants have no relevant experience of any kind. Then we are told that we should provide training. So, the employer is responsible for taking someone who has shown no interest in training or learning and teach them EVERYTHING needed to be known not to do the job well.. but at the bare minimum level. This is what we are told. This makes no sense both from a business perspective nor from an employee perspective. All this approach does is contribute to a culture of entitlement (in my opinion).
Think of it for a moment, a country that tells the busineses to lower their standards so that it will be easier for the local people to get work. That leads to what kind of end product? This country went through an economic boom at one point and apparently missed the boat on spending some of that money on creating a first class education system and social safety net for those who are not born with the same blessings as others.
Education, not a lowering of standards, is what will help the Caymanian people who are unemployed. Working at a gas station is a recommendation I would give any young person who is out of work. It's not a neo-colonial attitude. I didn't say that ALL Caymanians are good for is working at gas stations and that they should be restricted to jobs only where they serve the rest of us. Don't put words into my mouth. An unemployed teen who has already fathered a child and has no training or skills would benefit greatly by working in a gas station. Work hard, learn, move up, move on. It has nothing to do with being held down to low level service jobs. It has to do with low level service jobs leading to higher level jobs.
I call bull on this idea that somehow totally qualified Caymanians with great work ethic etc etc.. are simply being held back due to prejudice. To what end? I would love to hear. I can only speak to my own experience with applicants but the worst example was the one who wouldn't come to the interview because of previous plans to party at the beach and whose first questions were "how much is the pay" and "how many vacation days do I get". I don't work in a law firm or the financial industry so I can't speak to that experience and certainly wouldn't want to generalize but this has been my experience with many applicants.
There are what, a couple thousand people claiming to be unemployed? Let's see the list? Lets stop talking in hypotheticals. Let's see the list of people and their qualifications so that we know exactly what we are talking about. Who are these people who are claiming unemployment and who want to work? I keep hearing that there are highly educated and qualified people who can't find work. I find it hard to believe that there is no work out there for them. I find it easier to believe that they don't want to do the work that is available. I tend to believe also that a large percentage of this group are not very employable and by that I mean they have no training, no experience, no record of good attendance or anything that illustrates a willingness to work hard and learn. I have tried hiring people who have no experience. I look for evidence that they can learn but I rarely see that in a resume either. No volunteer work, no hobbies listed, no interests listed, nothing that would illustrate an ability, eagerness or interest in learning. So, even if we do what is asked of us by the labour board and hire someone without any training, experience and qualifications and take on the job of training this person, I still can't find someone willing and able to learn what is necessary to do the job. Again, this has been my experience and this is the reason I think a "low level service job" would be a good starting point. It would provide the person with the ability to demonstrate some of the attributes employers look for.
Again, it has nothing to do with trying to keep Caymanians down or restrict them to serving the rest of us. That's just plain silly.
I don't think he was relegating lower income jobs to Caymanians I think the comment was saying, unless you have the experience and or education, you can't expect to start at the top. You may have to start at the bottom or the middle and there is nothing wrong with that. He's saying it may take time but work your way up. I have been here for almost 7 years and I've heard the mantra time and again about how locals can't survive on the salaries paid to security guards, maids or cashiers, but others do it why can't you? I started as an office clerk working full time and going to school full time until I finished my degree, it was hard but I did it. Why can't others do the same and its not about Caymanians per se but this younger generation who feel like they don't have to push or struggle to get anywhere. Its all sad and in the end everyone will suffer. CIG will loose the revenue work permits bring, the economy will loose the dollars those 1500 workers contribute and basic economics says that the loss of this cash flow will cause an increase in the cost of living which no one local or expat can afford.
You missed the point. You have to start somewhere and in most cases that is a low level position as a teen or young adult. People in Cayman do not get a lot of work experience in high school because it is rare to see high school kids take a evening or weekend job.
I for one held jobs through high school and college overseas. I started working at 14 here in Cayman a day or two a week and always had good summer work. First year I was working on the beach, then a lawfirm, accounting firm, then a bank. No one could tell me I did not have experience and had made great contacts/friends in good positions that I could use for work references.
The issue may be a cultural mindset amongst our people. I praise the Cayman young people who are actively working and gaining this experience you will a lot further ahead when you find a career you want.
A recent expat to the island pointed out to me that they found it strange to see adults working in jobs that overseas are filled by highschool students and university students. Food and beverage, landscape, construction labours, beach attendants, and fast food to name a few. Food for thought.
And you are suffering from Cayman entitlement issues…the Caymanians ALREADY working in the finance area and indeed in our office, are brilliant, work hard, get promoted, succeed. First poster was referring to the unemployable or those that profess to want a job. Any Caymanian can challenge a WP in a gas station and win, if they really wanted to earn some money. Even the person with the lowest grades ever..
Since we have to give PR and Status to person who qualify. People who are now Caymanians should have the same right to run for political office.
would love to see that 07.12, only it will never happen as the current ones would be shamed even more by their sheer incompetence and inability to get it right..
If I had wanted Ezzard’s economics of ignorance I would have voted for him. Alden, you are smarter than this! Think country first. Build jobs, stimulate the economy, this will only contract it! Don’t cave in to the uneducated xenophobia. Be a man.
"Don't cave in to the uneducated xenophobia. Be a man."
This sentence hits the nail on the head.
Get rid of the expats, that’s the answer! Stupid is asstupid does. Good luck renting or selling your properties. Have fun marketing your goods and services. And that bloated civil service, guess you’ll have to pay for that out of your own dwindling pocket. Short sighted spinelessness is contagious for politicians I guess.
Coward.
Oh, there are legal challenges certain to come. So many things done by our Govt. blatantly violate human rights. The iceberg’s tip has just surfaced. You cannot F with people’s lives, and not expect them to react.
One more chance for Caymanian workers and companies to prove themselves worthy. Hope they do a better job then the last ten years, the never ending school job, the affordable housing jobs, etc., etc., etc. Good luck Cayman. Your going to need it to survive your next painfull lesson.
We have been preparing for what we thought was the worst case scenario namely individuals caught in the TLEP process having to leave. But the prospect of a zombie army of suitably-qualifieds battering down the doors of HR offices seems much much worse. The only answer will be to pull the jobs and stop recruitment until the hysteria passes.
Not one " unemployed" Caymanian will find work as a result.
Apprentice positions? Look at the list! You want there to be riots or what? Idiots! That is the only way to describe our authorities!
On the Excel spreadsheet attached it says that there is only one "Food and Beverage Server" on a full work permit. No PR holders, no temporary permit holders. So is this saying that all the Food and Beverage Servers except one are Caymanian?! Really? Also, it says there is only one Chartered Secretary on a permit. Well, I know of at least 3 with work permits. This spreadsheet is inaccurate…..typical!
This list does not represent the number of work permit grants in each profession. It only represents those working under a TLEP issued by the UDP two years ago allegedly to stem an exodus of workers from the island. I'm an expat and from looking at the list, I'd say it seems to me that many of the positions could have been taken by Caymanians. I expect they needed 10 years experience and a masters degree though, which is too oftent he case in entry level and unskilled occupations that should be taken by Caymanians, but are advertised in such a way as to make it difficult for Caymanians to apply.
Immigration need to stop allowing people to require qualifications and years of experience for entry level and unskilled positions, thus opening the gate for school leavers and all Caymanians to have better chances of getting these jobs.
The list is representative for all work permit holders and PR holders. The codes tell you what type of permit it is. WTG and WTR=TELPs; WOL = Working by Operation of Law; TWP = Temporary Work Permit; WPR = Permanent Resident; WPG = Work Permit [Grant].
Isn't this a list of TLEP holders not all WP holders?
That is the direct result of hireing "suitably qualified" over skill. Get used to it. This is the style that Government is now pushing for all non government jobs.
Lets hope that the adds do not state that dish washers and moppers and bar tenders have to have training like they have in the past. Dont worry the adds will be worded so that no Caymanian will want to apply for fear that they are not going to qualify.
Apply for PR? Didn't employees have lots of time to think about that in the last number of years? Didn't employers have lots of time to think about succession planning in the last number of years? Are we really that stupid or do they just think we are? WHY are they now just "getting around to it"? I certainly hope that they give them a very good screening before they grant them PR especially when it comes to the points system and more importantly their contributions to the community.
You can't apply for PR until you've been here 8 years. You get rolled over at 7. You stay IF your employer chooses to, and succeeds, in making a key employee application. You try getting your employer to tell you whether they intend to do this until year 7 when you are about to leave.
@9:43 We the Caymanians would also like to see less aplications turned down BECAUSE of birthright, but if 'right' to work in the Cayman Islands wasn't important to many, why fight to keep these 1500 here or anyone here?
In Cayman, all workers can easily be replaced and most arguments made for domestics etc are irrelevant, ofcourse they can be replaced, probably end up with better worke who knows, at the end of day helpers are not parents anyway. We can revert to families caring fro each other, less money spent on helpers who are sending that money home (ALL helpers Iknow have a home in Jamaica and kids are in private school so consider where real pity/concern should be placed) or increasing burden on Caymanians who're working for a few dollars and most to pay helper and for other social ills due to so many here on bogus work permits to beging with.
Allow the helpers to work for different employers since many people can't afford full time helpers anyway.
Establish family/community day care centres so no need to have a neighbourhood with 20 helpers, have less at one location and rotation to allow others some work.
Why apply for PR or status, if having a right to work isn't important? So sorry that ridiculous argument doesn't work on me.
If birthright isn't an important (not only and we know that!!) factor to consider for jobs the stop giving PR/status to anyone, or do the majority of expats feel so entitled they want the paper (via status) to get the job but if we use the paper (via birth certificate) we are criticised?? hmmm making it obvious my friends, just hope rest of Caymanians and our puppet government soon wake up.
abysmal treatment of people who are obviously very committed to the cayman islands…… and who cannot be replaced by locals…. as proven by them being granted work permits for the last 9 years…..
this is the real caymankind…
Exactly…give a place 9 years of your life and then it's "get the xxxx out". If only humans had rights under some convention or something, which would protect people from being denied citizenship in a place they made home for a sufficient number of years… if only.
You didn't "give" anybody anything. You came to Cayman to make a better living for yourself. You were granted a permit on the explicit basis that you should have no expectation of further grants or of obtaining any permanent rights. Now, having agreed to the rules, you want to change them to suit your interests and cry foul when we don't agree. We are not alone in this. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1199312/hong-kongs-top-court-rejects-domestic-helpers-appeal-permanent?page=all
Please. No Permanent Residency (PR) for any work permit holders applicants who are preventing us from getting the Human Resources jobs. This includes the HR people in governmen and the statutory services as well. There are so many of us that have our Master's in HR and cannot get these jobs.
If you are unemployed then you just advertised the fact why. This is not about rollover. Try read the article rather than jump in with an idiotic comment that is clearly more inaccurate than the article you state to be misleading. The only one misled is yourself. The article is quite clear… if you read it.
Reading only the headline is misleading, hence your inaccurate reply. This is nothing to do with rollover as you have clearly assumed on the basis of the 5 words that form the headline of this article.
If you read on through the article itself, you will see that those on TLEPs are being made to apply for PR within 45 days. The TLEP holders could not have applied for PR in their first 7 years here – they had to be here 8 under the old law, and the new, before applying. So there is nothing misleading there.
Only another Ivan will rectify the problem that it created. I really hope that a man and not a storm named Ivan will sort this out for us.
Very interesting list now check it against the list from Bermuda and see the occupations that non Bermudians cannot occupy. Cayman immigration needs lots of sorting out, it has become a joke.
Absolutely my sentiments too on reading this list. A large number of these occupations should be Caymanian only. Some I can see are skilled professions, but most should not require work permits.
How terrifying – all these years of uncertainty and a future held in the balance by a pseudo-political board and the horror of the words "suitably qualified". I suspect individuals with sufficient links to the Cayman Islands will have an accrued right to remain anyway under Art 8 of the ECHR.
Considering many of these TLEPs applied 2 years ago on the basis that their additional 2 years on a TLEP wouldn't count towards residency, this really is rather a questionable move that could potentially open up a can of worms.
You suspect wrong. A good margin of appreciation is allowed in these matters, and so long as there is an opportunity to apply for permanent residence after 8 years of residence the ECHR will be satisfied.
Which is precisely why we need a strict rollover policy, that also applies to the civil service and why we should have rolled all TLEP holders over when they reached 7 years.
Dragging this crap on just exposes us to more risk, creates uncertainty, and contributes to local unemployment.
That's the third world for you.
There are several flights departing every day since cayman is so backward and the people so horrible you can always leave and go back home.
Sadly some of you have no respect for this country, its people and a system that has provided so much for you, opportunities to earn money you could only dream about in your own country. You will not be missed in this third world paradise.
I’m glad to see a leader put his people first before the almighty $$$! Bracka
This headline in misleading. The employers have had over 7 YEARS not 45 days to deal with this issue.
Correction: 9 years.
Actually, many have already had 9 years because first they had the original 7 years Term Limit, then in 2011 the UDP govt granted them the 2 years term limit extension ("TLEPs") – but no matter how much time is given, there are some who will always cry foul! My oh my, and yet some people have the nerve to accuse Caymanians of having an entitlement culture!?
Some of this hits Cayman's employment problems right on the head.
Bill Has Done It Again!!!!
Dr.. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed..D.
They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English.
I can't even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain't, Where you is, What he drive, Where he stay, Where he work, Who you be…
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk.
Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living.
People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an Education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around. The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids.
$500 sneakers for what? And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.
I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.
Where were you when he was 2? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol?
And where is the father? Or who is his father?
People putting their clothes on backward: Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?
People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something?
Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?
What part of Africa did this come from?? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa …….
I say this all of the time. It would be like white people saying they are European-American. That is totally stupid.
I was born here, and so were my parents and grand parents and, very likely my great grandparents. I don't have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Germany , Scotland , England , Ireland , or the Netherlands . The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa … So stop, already! ! !
With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap ………. And all of them are in jail.
Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem.
We have got to take the neighborhood back.
People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' — or men or whatever you call them now.
We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job.
Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard..
We cannot blame the white people any longer.'
Dr.. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed..D.
Nicely said
There is however one topjob available here for the "where you is"
Politician
Bill Crosby. A Multi-millionare who named his son after an Irish term for island (Ennis). How very American of him. Had a sitcom that didn’t strive to educate black folk, but instead pandered to the happy, middle to rich white household, who only wished their American Negros acted and behaved as the Huxtables portrayed. Fake and unrealasitic for many people. And don’t get me started on Fat Albert and the stereotypical mockery that series was. Hey, hey, hey indeed.
He’s old and miserable. Have a Coke and shut the f*ck up Bill.
I don't understand the thumbs down on the post re Bill Cosby. Also there is one lol – this is not funny as he could be describing Cayman 2013.
All the thumbs down are from people who have low standards for themselves and their people. What he is describing is one of the biggest issues facing the Black community in the United States and the problem was created from within, just as it is in Cayman. People like to blame other for all their issues because it’s easier than looking inside oneself. Just the fact that some posters say that black people living the life of the Huxtables as portrayed in the Cosby show is fake and unrealistic, where you have a family with an educated Mother and Father who are raising their children and insuring they get an education while living in a home that they worked hard for is a sign of where we are as a people. We no long believe that we have the ability to live that type of life. However there are plenty of Black American as well as Caymanians living that same lifestyle and better. They are the ones that put education first kept their noses clean and show commitment to bettering themselves instead of sitting on their behinds and pointing their fingers at those who bust their butts to get ahead calling them sellouts and saying things like I’m just keeping it real. Well let me keep it real I am a black American, I grew in one of the worst neighborhoods in New Jersey both my mother and father worked their butts off to make sure we got the education they weren’t fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get. In return I stayed out of trouble and off drugs while most of my friends did just the opposite I have some college education no PHD or bachelor’s degree but I do have excellent work ethics, years of experience from taking jobs I didn’t always like, I knew how to work hard to get what I wanted and make the right decisions. I can remember buying my first home outside of the old neighborhood and people calling me a sellout saying I was trying to be like the Huxtables. Well yeah I was, I wanted something better for my kids just like my father wanted something better for his. We all have to realize that our kids are our legacy and what they turn out to be is a direct reflection on ourselves. Now in my 50’s most of my friends that I grew up with are either dead in jail or still struggling in the old neighborhood. While I have 2 beautiful children who both have College degrees and great jobs. I have 4 homes in the US, 3 of which are investment properties as well as a home in Cayman. All this is because I worked hard and never though what I dreamed about was unreachable. For the people who want to call me a sell out or say I’m not keeping it real, screw them, they are the ones trying to hold me back.
There's more to this 2004 NAACP Bill Cosby speech. Recommended to read in its entirety and not just this well circulated and cheered for excerpt.
To counter with another quote and input that should be trumpeted as much, but is not (it doesn't fit some people's agendas) –
'While the criticisms voiced by Bill Cosby are greeted by some as a long-needed airing of problems everyone recognizes but no one talks about, others regard them as unfairly saddling lower-income blacks with sole responsibility for their plight. "He unerringly and wrongly blames the poor. He seems to think that if they would only change their minds, all their problems would go away," said Ronald Walters, director of the African American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland.
Critics also fear that citing failures of lower-income blacks to make the most of educational opportunities and to eschew choices that limit potential for success (poor use of language, early parenting, often unpartnered) gives white people the much-welcomed easy out of declaring themselves devoid of any responsibility for the cause or continuation of black poverty in America: "See? It's not us that puts them in the ghettos or keeps them there, it's them." Such disavowal, while comforting to those who instinctively seize it when it appears to have been offered, ignores the possibility of racial economic disparity's being the result of a combination of contributing factors rather than an either/or "If you did it, then I didn't" proposition.
Last, Dr. Cosby's black-negative assessments could, as some have pointed out, serve as confirmations long sought by racists of their view that African-Americans are inherently incapable of helping themselves, which they would hold up as proof of their theory of black genetic inferiority.
While the relative merit of Bill Cosby's pronouncements might be disputed, what is not is the sincerity of the man who made them.'
And the Cayman ruling class has kept the at risk families and youth down by not offering to help our own rise up and rise to the level of self worth.
The local businesses that cry foul over losing 1,000 low wage workers SHOULD have been less greedy and grooming the youth of Cayman to start at blue collar jobs (yes I washed dishes in a kitchen as a teenager and now I am a CFO) and work in these businesses. No where else in the world are the local handyman and blue collar workers imported. Where I grew up, the plumber was local, the electrician lived down the street, the hair sylist went to high school with me. The policeman and secuirty guards and bus drivers made enough money to support their families.
Wages and local opportunity are the key to our crime and unemployment and you can thank big business for that – greed of the few is causing harm to many.
The Chamber of Commerce and the business ruling class keep their own Caymanians from going up the ladder so now we have low wage crime and unemployment. Do you own a business? Could YOU live on what you pay your employees? There lies the answer.
Start throwing stones at glass houses.
45 days? How barbaric.
Not 45 days, employers had 7 years
Barbaric?!!, hell if this was the USA and it was Homeland Security you would have 72 hours to get out!! FACT!
For who? The lazy employers who had 7 years to recruit and prepare themselves for this reality or the qualified locals who have had to deal with the lack of income and discrimination in their own home land? Any other scenario proves predjudicial.
Now it comes down to this….$20,000 for not reporting qualified applicants…..Employers made their own bed now they must sleep in it, if they can.
Barbaric is when Caymanians are forced to go without a job in their own country due to greed and ignorance.
So basically we are still going to have a mass exodus because at least 900 of the 1,500 people on TLEP are domestic helpers, gardeners etc then the chances of them being granted PR are quite slim and probably won't even bother to apply. I doubt many of the remaining 600 would be granted PR either. So what is the point of this execise? For the Government to make money from all these PR applications??
As Mr McLaughlin pointed out Caymanians have no interest in at least 900 of these jobs. So why make these people leave? Families will lose helpers they have come to trust with their children, employers will lose valuable employees who most likely have been with them for the 7 years. Then what, families and employers will have to go through the process of hiring new employees, because I repeat Mr McLaughlin said Caymanians have no interest in these positions, people they don't know and will have to spend precious time and no doubt cost investing in these new employees.
I understand and agree that we have to find jobs for the many unemployed Caymanians, but what about those Caymanians that will lose jobs when these people have to leave??
I, as a Caymanian, will suffer financially from this process. Thank you very much Mr McLaughlin.
Pay your helper and Gardner more and I will work for you.
I'm sure that there was a figure somewhere which showed the more work permits there were the smaller the unemployment figure was…!
We can't please all the people all the time – what is the fuss? the law is the law, if you have to go, then go ! i am sick and tired of hearing and reading all the complaints now !
Sir, just think about the 900 people that our Government which is us that will have to give these people a check every month and free medical too just like all the other Caymanians. So will you then be willing to have your houses , business and other propertys taxed? We need to think alittle further than our toes.
Firstly, there are only a couple hundred TLEP holders who have to either decide to apply for PR or prepare to leave over the next few months. The remainder will be entitled to apply for WP renewals. whether they obtain they will depend on the usual factors and whether Caymanians are available to fill those jobs. Whatever you perceive to be wrong with the current circumstances and the proposed reform, how is any of it Mr McLaughlins fault? It seems that you may be suggesting not having a term limit at all and that is not a solution. It is a retrograde step to disaster!
Better for greedy people like you to suffer than hundreds of other deserving Caymanians.
It's a CaymanKind Christmas present. Thanks for all your help doing the nasty, low-paying jobs we don't want to do, but hit the road Jack. There's no one poor enough that won't be exploited by the greedy barbarians that pull the strings around here. Truly disgusting.
The attachment is useful, however, what would be more useful is to find out how and where to apply for these jobs! Any additional info welcome!
CNS: We did a test FOI request and were able to obtain the details of employers for specific jobs. The details were released without problem so readers will be pleased to know that they can submit a request to Immigration for the details of the employers holding any of the TLEPs, or any other permit for that matter, to enable them to make an application.
Thanks CNS, I must do send in my FOI request fast, there are lots of accounting jobs and I have been out of work for over a year, but only have PR since March, can't wait to apply
Hmmm wonder how many people will actually bother to check this out??
So if CNS got the details by FOI, why won’t it release it?
Immigration and Employment has always been a comlpex difficult subject for CIG and employers alike. Of course we would like to see more Caymanians across all levels of the workforce, but this should be based on experience, attitude and competence – not birthright.
Our young school leavers are they expecting to get the high paid jobs just because they are Caymanian? What does that do to the work output when things are dumbed down.
Cayman needs to put in place a "Bright Stars Shine" program. Where school children and adults are educated and encouraged to be the best they can be. To finish school, seek higher education and job specific training. To know that they got the job because they earned it – not becuase they were born here is one of the most rewarding things in life. You put in the effort – You got the reward.
I emplore CIG to make higher education and apprentiship skill training compulsory to all students. It is for their future benefit.
Concerning the TLEPS they should have a very clear and understandable way of continuing to be part of Cayman. Residency should be qualifable by the amount youhave invested into our ecomony. Ownership of land and financial resources minimums must be in place to ensure that TLEPS do not become a financial burden on CIG.
And last but not least. Employers should have the right to employ whomever they want. At the end of the day it is their business they should not be forced to make compromises in the products or services they sell and the people they employ to do that.
A free market economy with regulate itself perfectly without the interference of CIG.
In short the role of CIG is to provide adequate training opportunities to all. Then let the individual be responsible for how much the shine!
plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
This could be the start of something really unpleasant. AGAIN.
Copy Cat much?
"It is also worthy of note that in effect the TLEPs are only being extended for 45 days, to December 9th".
This is obviously an error as a matter of simple arithmetic, today being 27th September. By my calculation Dec 9th is 73 days away. Please change that headline.
TLEPs expire Oct 28, not today, so the 45 day headline is correct.
Oh gosh I can't believe the number of people who post assinine comments in this place. Read the original law on TLEPs. They all expire by 28 Oct 2013, meaning their last day of work would be 25 Oct 2013. Add 45 days to that and you'll be nearer the mark.
Oh Gosh, why did you reply then?? Other posters explained it before you!!!
45 days from the expiration of the TLEPs (Oct 28, I believe)
Or maybe it is 49 working days, not including 27 September nor 9 December, 11 November being a Public Holiday.
Obviously you're not good at maths…45 days meaning from October 28th, which was originally the set date for all TLEP's to leave island….kapish?!
45 days from when the permitexpires. The latest date being December, 9th. Not every permit will expire on one day or date. Think out of the box, or come out of the corner and see the bigger picture.
Troll. 45 days after the TELP permits will expire. that brings us to Dec 9th
Most of the posters below seemed to have completely missed the humour of the post.
Would the Premier please define "willing and able"? Is that in the sense of working your butt off as most WP holders have to, or just "willing to turn up at some point, able but cannot be bothered". We must be told.
I smell Real Estate boom on $100,000 parcels!
Could you please explain this to those of us not "in the know"?
Mr. Premier. I was qualified for a TLEP holder's position when I applied for it two years ago. The employer did not disclose my application to the Immigration authorities. The employer has since been granted status. The TLEP holder will now be applying for PR. The employer is now making applications for work permits, prominently stating his business employs a Caymanian (himself!).
I am not alone in this reality.
Thanks a bunch!
He(the boss) obviously didn't think you qualified. Welcome to the real world. Its where real people live and work for a living. Stop whining. Maybe thats why you weren't hired.
Actually the boss said I was qualified. These things a so much more complicated than you think.
Same here, there are qualified and professional caymanians and PR holders out there but we seem to be lost in this discussion
Premier – what you gonna do about that? Your systems are permanently excluding local persons from opportunity and then allowing unlimited numbers of expat kin (with no particular skills or money or need in our society and without being vetted) to also come and take opportunity. With the benefit of allowing an employer to have a secretary for more than 8 years?
Alden, no prizes for guessing who the Caymanian is writing the letter in support of the TLEP holder's PR application in the above scenario.
Unless you are willing to rescind the status of those who can be demonstrated to be using it to the detriment of these Islands and their people, our society will continue to fragment and destroy itself.
You also need to take steps to ensure that only those who are truly willing to integrate and put Cayman first are able to become Caymanian in future.
We have plenty of room for foreigners to strand shoulder to shoulder with us, and we will embrace those who count themselves with us, and gladly make them Caymanian – but please, for God's sake and the sake of your people, why do we have to endure the criminals, liars and cheats any more?
You have the lawful power to remove them for good cause. Time to decide whose side you are on.
Use the system to benefit yourself. If you registered with the labour board, and you were qualified for the posistion, then the labour board would NEVER write a letter stating there are no caymaninan for the job. But you rather just blame the employer for not wanting to hire you. why didn't you get off your ass, and go to immigration after the employer did not hire you showing you were qualified for the posistion but did not get it………. NOOOOOO you wait for 2 years, to put a rant on here. GREAT job!!! but guess what, all you hinder it youself.
Oh no, you are wrong. Immigration are fully aware.
LMFAO – This is a damn joke. If he really thinks that permits will not be granted for positions Caymanian's are qualified for he's a bigger idiot than I thought. Yet, we all poked fun at Keke for being a dumb a$$. Private Sector/business owners will always have the CI Gov't by the balls speaking of which Alden please grow a pair!
I've always think that when people blog on this site they ought to be respectful to their leaders of the country and also colleques who are blogging here. CNS its time for you not to post bloggings that is disrespectful and lacks regard for people in the Cayman Islands or any other countries for that matter. Whether you like or dislike someone, please be respectful in your posting. So to talk a about "growing balls" is disrespectful and is not called for. You don't have to be disrespectful to get your point out. Thanks
Yep, sounds like another Qualified Caymanian weighing in.