Archive for February 26th, 2014

Alden wavers on SMCs

(CNS): The premier has told the Legislative Assembly that while government still supports the idea of ‘equality of franchise’ for voters, it appears it will not be following the Electoral Boundary Commission's recommendations for 18 single member constituencies (SMCs) but is considering 'at large' candidates, changing the number of seats, and by implication the constituencies. Alden McLaughlin said there were concerns among the Progressive and independent members of government over alleged anomalies thrown up by constituencies with very small numbers of voters. But he said whatever the final outcome, government was sticking to the election promise as it would still be SMCs but “with modifications”.

However, what the premier was advocating in his brief contribution to the debate in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday was considerably more than modification. It will require that entirely new electoral boundaries to be drawn up. In addition, the justifications for the decision seemed entirely at odds with what has happened historically in the smaller districts to which he was referring.

The announcement that government is now thinking of a number of alternative options rather than the one recommended by two different boundary commissions came in response to a private member’s motion brought by East End MLA Arden McLean asking government to implement 'one man, one vote' in single member constituencies in a first past the post system, as per the referendum result in July 2012.

Recalling the long and controversial history regarding the voting system, the member for East End made the point that by the time of the last election, it was only the UDP that was still against OMOV in SMCs. All other candidates and the PPM campaigned on a platform of SMCs, the Progressives as well as the independents who were elected.

He pointed out that several members on the government benches had launched their political careers during the OMOV campaign and that in the past they had all favoured the simple, straight forward, fair system. However, he said, he was aware that since then the government was toying with the idea of different possibilities after a retreat with the independent candidates. And despite the premier’s on the record support for that simple system, he was going to be promoting idea of 'at large' candidates.

McLaughlin admitted that there had been a retreat, and because his government included others (non PPM members), he had to listen to their opinions, and OMOV and SMCs had been the subject of discussions at the retreat.  Returning to old arguments about the domination of parties or individuals in smaller constituencies, when in reality in Cayman it has been the reverse, the premier appeared to imply that the discussions were still ongoing and he was hoping to reach a compromise among the entire legislature.

What the premier avoided noting, however, was that his ideas of increasing the seats to 19 or creating 14 or 15 constituencies and then having four or five 'at large' candidates would require an entirely new boundary commission, which would take the process back to square one and ensure a long delayin the implementation of any new system, no matter how that comes about.

Adjourning the LA until 10am Thursday morning, McLaughlin said the government would soon be formally revealing the proposals in writing and in more detail to trigger the debate.

Continue Reading

Rivers rejects wage motion

(CNS): The employment minister made it abundantly clear Wednesday that government will not be introducing a minimum wage anytime soon when she rejected the private member’s motion filed by the independent member for North Side. Although Tara Rivers spoke about starting the required research and forming a committee, she raised a catalogue of objections to the principle and posed a massive number of questions to justify the need for analysis and research before considering the implementation of even a $5 staring point, as suggested by Ezzard Miller. In complete contrast to the PPM manifesto, which calls for its implementation as an ‘early priority’, Rivers will be taking her time.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly debate on a motion to introduce a minimum wage brought by Ezzard Miller, the minister who has responsibility for education, labour and gender affairs found just a few beneficial things about a minimum wage against a long, long list of fears that have been put forward by opponents of the principle for many years.

From inflation to jobs losses, the problems ofdomestic helpers and how to deal with tips were just a few objections Rivers raised, as she read a speech in the LA about why government was not accepting the motion. Albeit that it had plans to implement a minimum wage regime, the minister seemed less than keen. Most of what she said related to long held objections of those on the political right and those who believe only the market should decide pay. 

She did say that it could help protect the worst exploited people and perhaps improve the gender pay gap, but as quickly as the labour minister mentioned possible benefits Rivers returned to the well-aired fears associated with the issue mostly by employers. She said small businesses could close down, jobs would be lost, inflation would be rampant, with milk increasing by some two dollars a gallon overnight, she believed, as well as the inability of government to enforce it, given its failure regarding pensions and insurance. She also pointed to single parents who would no longer be able to afford a helper.

Although she said the ministry had started work on collecting the research and analysis and had set up a committee, as suggested under the labour law,  Rivers’ road to a minimum wage, if she is to recommend one at all, is long, in direct conflict with government’s promises.

Rivers, who campaigned on the C4C ticket and not the PPM, is not burdened with an election promise in this regard, as that advocacy group does not support a minimum wage and Rivers herself made no commitment to implementing one on the campaign trail.

The Progressives, on the other hand, spoke often of the need to introduce a minimum wage on the hustings. The premier himself has regularly pointed to his regret that he was unable to persuade the Chamber of Commerce and other special interest groups to support the idea when he was labour minister between 2005 and 2009. In the Progressives' manifesto, released ahead of the general election in May last year, the party lists the introduction of a basic wage below which no one should be expected to work, not just as a priority but an early one.

Talking about creating jobs, the party said, “We will … implement a minimum wage as an early priority”. Nevertheless their minister for labour appears to have a very different view of “early priority” as she spoke about the myriad issues she believes have to be examined, analysed and discussed before she would entertain the concept.

In support of the motion, Arden McLean said that Ezzard Miller had approached the issue with a simple goal to prevent the abuse of workers and the continuing proliferation of cheap foreign exploited labour that is having a direct impact on local unemployment.

Striving to ensure that no worker anywhere in any circumstances working in the Cayman Islands should fall below the hourly rate of $5 as a starting point, which could be adjusted at a later date, he said it was time to stop talking about it and for the House to demonstrate it had the political will to help the country’s most vulnerable. After twenty years of talking about it, Miller said he hoped the government would take the first step.

However, the motion was greeted with an outright rejection, as Rivers said it was presented in a vacuum with no facts and figures and was merely an opinion like many expressed by “arm chair economists”, who said government should bring in a basic wage without any data to support the notion.

Check back to CNS later for Miller's response to the debate and see Rivers' full statement below.

Continue Reading

UK’s OT boss to pay two day visit to Cayman

(CNS): Peter Hayes, the director for the overseas territories at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office will be making a short visit to the Cayman Islands next week to meet with a number of government officials and according to a statement from the governor’s office to promote the shared agendas between Britain and Cayman. Hayes will arrive in Cayman on Monday 3 March and then will leave the following day.  Hayes said he was looking forward to meeting the premier and visiting the new health city. “The visit follows on from the premier’s visit to London earlier this month and will focus on enhancing the relationship between the UK and Cayman Islands and promoting our shared agendas,” said a spokesperson for the governor’s office which is hosting Hayes.

The OT director will have meetings with the premier, the attorney general and the police commissioner and will call in on the Cabinet meeting.  Other engagements will include a meeting with opposition MLAs, a visit to Shetty’s Health City, as well as Northward prison. The FCO bureaucrat will also be taking a tour of the Mission House in Bodden Town with the National Trust.

The premier will also host a reception and Hayes will attend a dinner hosted by Cayman Finance.

“I am delighted to bevisiting the Cayman Islands again,” said Hayes.  “I am particularly looking forward to discussions with the Premier and to visiting the Shetty Health City, a welcome indicator of the diversification of the Cayman Islands’ economy,” he added.

Continue Reading

Mac proposes worker alliance

(CNS): The opposition leader is calling on workers to unite to protect their own rights and advance their skills so they can address some of the ills in the modern workplace and unemployment. McKeeva Bush has denied that this proposal is a union, even though he expected people “to smear it” as such, but he said that while there were enough advocacy groups, such as the C4C and the Chamber of Commerce, in Cayman representing the interests of business and employers, the country’s employees were unrepresented. He said that, given the increasing challenges facing them from the pressure of a global workforce and cheap labour, workers needed to try and advance their own cause.

Speaking on the new series of Cayman 27’s talk show, The Panel, on Tuesday evening, Bush said he would not be leading or setting up this alliance but wanted to promote the idea. He said he wanted to help those who had talked to him about creating a formal association to represent workers, from hotel employees living on low wages to young lawyers not able to find articles.

The opposition leader said participatory democracy meant everyone should have their say but at present most issues are decided by employers, with the people only invited to speak on election day. Bush claimed a long history of promoting workers’ rights, from pensions to maternity pay, as well as holidays and overtime, during his time as a politician. He said that workers' rights have come a long way but new technology had brought many new challenges for the local workforce, not least the impact of outsourcing and cheap labour.

He spoke about past times when workers received fair wages in their jobs and said that before now, Cayman never had a situation where people were living 20 to a room because theywere earning only $5 per hour.

The workers alliance idea, he said, could ensure a level playing field and give local people the opportunity to compete for jobs.

“It is not a union,” Bush stated. He said he wanted workers to start the discussion and create an organisation focused on helping people find work, improve their skills learn about their rights and build awareness in all of the major sectors, while still recognising the commercial realities.

He said the National Workforce Development Agency (NWDA), which was created by the former labour minister, Rolston Anglin, "was practically useless” but whoever formed the workers' alliance would still need to work with government, this agency and within the boundaries of the labour laws.

Asked by the show's host, Tammie Sulliman, why Bush had failed to create or promote such an alliance when he was premier, he insisted that he was fully occupied trying to keep Cayman afloat, tackling the budget and public finances and fighting red tape, as well as dealing with the media, which he blamed for blowing everything out of proportion. Bush said that the current government has four ministers now doing the job he had done, and he said government could not do everything.

He said that no government would be able to help the workers because of the pressure from business and the civil service stopping everything.

See Bush on the panel here.

Continue Reading