Bosses need to be fair
(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier has called on employers to be fair to Caymanian workers against the backdrop of what he described as a growing feeling of “dissatisfaction, even resentment” among many locals about their treatment in the labour market. Alden McLaughlinsaid that government is doing what it can to try and tackle the problem of jobless growth with investment in the NWDA, changes to the labour law and its stewardship of the economy. But he said that employment issues here have to do with more than just economic conditions with concerns about qualified and able Caymanians not being given proper preference for jobs and fair treatment increasing.
“Government is becoming more and more concerned at what appears to be a trend among some companies of declaring jobs held by Caymanians as redundant, then retitling them and applying for work-permits. The complaints about unfair treatment in the work-place, calls for a greater voice for workers and the demands for a minimum or living wage continue to strengthen,” McLaughlin told an audience of Chamber of Commerce members last week when he delivered his state of the nation address.
“An unhappy local workforce must be a matter of concern, not just to Government, but to the Chamber as well,” the premier warned, as he added that the government cannot address these issues alone. “The fundamental issue of the treatment of the Caymanian worker in the Cayman job market needs more than legislative change; it requires a change in attitude.”
As he noted the Chamber's pendulum continues to swing in favour of business he said the Chamber's leadership has an obligation and a duty to demand a standard of ethics and fair play from its membership.
“The hiring of capable and willing Caymanians and paying a good and fair wage should not be a matter for debate,” the premier stated clearly.
He said that government was doing its part to provide an environment where business can flourish with its economic strategy and recent concessions aimed at reducing the cost of doing business. But he warned bosses not to take the savings in duties and license fees straight to the bottom line to increase profits as he said that was a short-sighted approach that would be bad for business.
“It is important that business plays its part by passing on the savings to its customers to generate more business and ultimately provide more opportunities for employment,” he told the room in which there were many bosses. “Unemployed people cannot support your businesses.”
He said government had developed a multi-pronged approach to grow jobs but there was no single or simple solution.A new director has been hired for the National Workforce Development Agency to "enhance economic and educational opportunities for Caymanians.
“He will work with Government, businesses and educational sectors to ensure NWDA meets the needs of both job seekers and employers,” McLaughlin said as he revealed the latest statistics from the NWDA which is still struggling to make a serious dent in the more than estimated 2000 local people looking for work.
Over the last 14 months the NWDA has placed just 179 people in work, but now over a 1000 firms have registered jobs with the agency and permits have fallen over the same period by 2.2 per cent. He said the NWDA was helping Caymanians with an intake and assessment process that includes the identification of barrier and an appraisal of skills, interests and abilities of job seekers. McLaughlin also spoke about the increase in transparency between the agency and the Immigration department’s work permit process. He also said that government planned to publish the draft bill to amend the Labour Law before the end of the year for public consultation.
However, this was just one prong of the attack on joblessness in which he said the business community had to play its part.
During his address at the legislative lunch the Chamber president Johann Moxam had also called out his own membership about the issue of employment. He said as the membership called fro the rationalization of the civil service it had a responsibility to employ those government workers impacted as he called on the membership to take greater responsibility.
“Businesses must do more to hire competent and qualified Caymanians and provide them with a fair career path and opportunities for advancement,” he said but added that companies who did make decision to grow, hire and retain Caymanians must be rewarded.
He said that there was a time when large firms were standard bearers in training and development of local workers such as Cable & Wireless and CUC.
“These companies made the strategic decision to invest in Caymanians; they have a trained, Caymanian workforce and their staff is dedicated and long serving,” but few local companies are making that type of investment today he warned.
However, Moxam still pointed the finger at local workers when he said that being Caymanian in today’s competitive business environment was simply not enough as he called for higher standards across the board, “and honour our previous generations of men and women who made sacrifices and were world renowned for their work ethic and attitude.”
“Government policies must not facilitate or reward any form of discrimination, but we must also prepare ourselves to be today’s workers, tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, and Cayman’s next generation of leaders,” Moxam added.
Category: Politics
That retailer with the 10k+ sqft home in south sound should be ashamed of himself
His workers live in shacks and ride bicycles
but he is an outstanding member of the community so it is OK
Ban money transfer businesses. And ban Cash for Gold businesses while you are at it.
Both of these business are useless to Caymanians, and harmful to the well being of this country
Ban stupidity………..for the well being of this country.
Well Done Alden and crew it is about time this issue has been tackled! Caymanians need their future built we are the main people of this country and it is NOT fair for employers to Mistreat Caymanians because they perfer ex-pats!
The general consensus that expat workers have all the advantages and no difficulties is not true. I want to talk specifically about worker protections.
Some recent expat worker issues that I know personally:
– Manager of a clothing store chain here: Relocated from overseas, investeed a lot of money in transport, deposits, car etc. 3 months into his job his employer cancels his permit with no notice, says she hired his replacement 3 weeks earlier. He was still on "probation". Absolutely no recourse available, leaving island again with new debts.
– Employee of same clothing store chain: Wanted to leave company after temp permit to go to another job. Company owner was mad, refused to release permit, gave expat worker 12 hours shifts over her last two weeks as 'punishment' (contracted for 42 hours per week). No recourse avbailable.
– Two security officers: No paid pension, salary shortfall, permit cancelled in the middle of them compaining. Sent home, limited recourse available with their already limited resources and thousands of miles distance.
– Employee of watersports company: 102 degree fever and note off work from doctor. Told that her permit is on probation (6 monthsthis time!) and if you don't come to work you will lose your job. Did not go to work, permit was cancelled. No recourse available.
We need to stop this expat vs Caymanian BS – some expats are doing well, so are some Caymanians. Some Caymanians are getting screwed over, and so are are a lot of expats. Employment laws here are a joke and we're ALL getting screwed. We all need each other. Pitting us against each other is only useful to bad employers, we need to stick together and get fair protection for all workers and actual complaint procedures and punishments for bad employers.
I commend you on this write up. Everything you say is true here. Yes a there are a high number of expatriates that are abused in this country and they come from all walks of life and from all over the world. The Labour Laws are as useless as the leadership and staff that the department has. The staff are robotic and never seem to understand the urgency of the situation when they are dealing with expatriates who are abused and time is of the essence as these poor people do not have the funds to stay here and fight. And dont leave the Immigration Department out of the equation either as they are just as heartless with assisting. Oh and I am not an expat I am a born Caymanian who just happens to know how the system works and this poster has hit the nail on the head.
lol LOL i am only reading the headline
that is all i need for a good joke
bosses need to be fair ???
lol
they are modern day SLAVE owners
step 1 : get a Philipino
step 2 treat him like a salve !!
step 3 never..NEVER hire a local guy who could do the job, BUT
would refuse to wash your car , paint your house , wipe your ass !!!!
Shame on these business owners
But they dont realize they shoot themselves in the foot,
because when you pay little to nothing, then the people can't spend any money
in other businesses and so the circle continues the downward spiral.. THAT my firends is the real reason why Cayman is going nowhere and the ecoomy is in the dumps !!
p.s. shame on the cayman gov and immigration for continuously issuing unnessessary permits !!
revenue old chap! and they want more expats, so good luck with that.
The government run school system has failed the current generation of Caymanians. And now the government is telling the private sector that it needs train the people that the schools have failed to train.
In an globalized world it is important to be able to write clearly (not text-speak), speak clearly and be professionally presentable. Most Caymanians that have these skills also have jobs. Unfortunately theseskills have not been taught to the younger generations, therefore it is hard for them to get jobs.
It is hard enough for small businesses to pay work permit fees, but even harder to try to train Caymanians that lack basic education principles as well. I would think most companies would rather hire locally than spend money on permits, but the government schools are not providing even the basic set of skills for its population to compete in a global world.
Instead of building big fancy schools, the government should really focus on providing better education for Caymanians.
So well put! I especially advocate speaking clearly and not using bureaucratic baffle-gab – since many international clients have English as a second language and appreciate being able to fully follow a discussion.
Professional presentability is also very important. Besides displaying proper social manners, I suggest ultra-conservative dress, even if meeting with clients who are reputed to be "out-there" in their own style. Take an extra 10 minutes before leaving the house and check : polished shoes, straight stockings, pressed shirt, properly knotted tie, clean nails – everthing your grandma demanded so many years ago….
"Bosses need to be fair" This from a government that has no credability.
Why does everyone (including Caymans Government) assume all Caymanianas are unemployable and need outside help to get and keep a simple job? What about the many successful Caymanian business owners and workers? Why does the Caymanian Government not represent them over the hopelessly unemployable? Is it a percentage thing? Is there really that many more voters who are incapable of working over the ones that can? And why don't the Caymanian business owners who have been told in the past to hire my uncle Joey or face penalties speak up? Wait…. O.K. I just reread the post. I get it. Caymanians who want to get ahead and can"t might as well blame their own leadership like all the rest do.
I have said it before and I am saying it again, the Temp Agencies are causing a huge issue to the employment market. So many Temps are coming in on a temporary permit, waiting to be placed and the agencies are taking out one temporary permit after another. Some companies have had the same Temp for YEARS! Those are not temps, are they? How is a school leaver ever supposed to get their foot in the door when they are competing with Temps who have more experience and the companies are rather dealing with Temps to avoid taken someone on full time on their books in order to keep their overhead and headcount down?
Now this is a laugh "Bosses need to be fair it's like me opening the chicken coop and telling my dogs(two love the chase and one who don't except when the others do; one will let the chicken eat from his plate when the two are not there but as soon as the other two are around he will follow chase) who love to chase chickens "Sit and Stay". Sure my dogs will sit and stay as long as I'm there with a big stick but the minute I turn my back the chase and slaughter will happen. Is this for real? I am laughing so hard my sides hurt, this is one for Comedy Central, SNL and Bill Mahr.
These are the identical practices that many employers followed during the 60s in the Bahamas. Caymanians don't be fooled read the book entitled the Visions of Sir Lynden Pingling: In his own words by Patricia Beardsley Roker to understand what you are dealing with and how to formulate a strategy on how to avoid what happened there. Do your research look at Singapore and Bermuda and follow what works for them.
Well Singapore in the 70's immediately doubled workers wages. This in turn stimulated the economy and oh no businesses did not go bust. A mimimum wage would sort out many of caymans problems and the fact that politicians are so against it speaks volumes for who they serve……big business not ordinary caymanians.
I am astonished cayman does not have unions to protect employees. Can someone explain why?
Why not start next week with a minimum wage law that no one can break by signing away your rights as an employee??
I'll be fair…………as an employer, watch nearly everyone of my Caymanian employees show up late, consistently, everynday ,call in sick on weekends, and refuse to work on the many Hallmark holidays…..just because they' pretend to be First Day Christians….what a mess. And now I have to be nice to them.??? The demise of Cayman is emirate. ExPats show up on time, are courdius, and do a fair days labor because, if they don't they get fired. It is a nightmare to fire a lazy Camanian. Wake up Cayman.
First – buy a dictionary dude
It matters not how nicely you ask or beg some people to do the right thing it will never happen. As a result the next best thing to do is inact legislation. Here Hon Alden McLaughlin I am asking/begging you please read this and follow suit.
http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0001c8.htm
Far too many are unemployed when they don't have to be, we all know that there are more non nationals in jobsthan there are unemployed natives. Many of your people for the first time in over 45 years are going to bed hungry because they don't have jobs and can no longer go to the iron shore and catch fish (all fished out), collect some whelks, get a few conch, catch some lobsters not to mention catch a few agouti and get some bread kind from their ground (land all sold out). They can't even get water to drink or take a bath because many of your people don't have jobs to pay their water bill and we no longer build homes with cisterns and those that did condemed them in favour of city water (est. 1980s). Very few homes have a well so many people are forced to take a bath at the public beach and rely on Ms. Jan for help in getting some water to drink. Some people have had to resort to cooking outside because they have no electricity or propane. This country is fast declining into chaos and anarchy is right behind. Please look around and see the life that your people are living many third world countries have less numbers of their people living in the squalor and poverty that we have imported because our political leaders will not say "NOT IN MY COUNTRY AND NOT ON MY WATCH".
The Point of No return is Coming Soon!
Employees need to be fair, dont think you can steal money for years and then when the company fire you, and absorb the loss, people saying why you leave and you say they fired you. People neeed to know why you were fired, no moe fundraising for schools or teams either. I have lost faith
Employers are there to make money. It is their only priority.
The only way to protect workers is by laws AND enforcing them.
Don't be naive. . . . .
Indeed 20.37, and the only way they make money is by having flexibility in the work force which they can have with expats, because they can get rid of them in an instant, just like that…if same applied to Caymanians, more would be employed, more would also initially be fired until the lazy element (by no means the majoirty, but those who are mostly unemployed now) learn what heard work, turning up for work and doing what you are supposed to actually means. In addition, if the silver spoon of welfare was taken out of the lazy peoples mouths, they would learn even quicker…
I think the us vs. them started about the same time we started rolling them over.
No doofus. It started with the status grants
Alden- elections are lil under 3 years away so PLEASE DONT START campaigning already with this hot air. Get on the ball and DO SOMETHING– let us see actions rather than hear talk. Here are some small but meaningful suggestions:
1- STOP all un-necessary work permit renewals until such time as qualified Caymanians are hired (to this point I refer to permits such as cashiers, store clersk etc, NOT skilled or qalified permits sch as lawyers accountants etc)
2- Have a combined team of officers from both Immigration and Labour go into all businesses to see what is really going on in places of employment
3- Treat expat Government workers JUST AS THOSE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ARE if they arent needed OR if they are holding a Caymanian down-send them back to their country- they have some place to go back to- your fellow Caymanians DONT
4- Create a MEANINGFUL minimum wage that will prevent employers from paying workers $3 per hour-
5- Get SERIOUS with the enforcement of Immigration and Labour Laws
6- STOP being intimidated by the Chamber of Commerce
I and I am sure MANY others are sick and tired of talk with no substance. Grow a pair and get the job DONE!!!!! BTW- I was unemployed for 9 months and during that time, the NWDA was about as useful a 2 teats on a bull.
"holding a Caymanian down" …try expats contributing more to their community and investing more time and money into grand cayman then caymanians only to have caymans spit Christian venomous trash like this comment.
Look in the mirror, the only one holding you back is yourself still trying to hold onto a time that will never return.
With a British passport, Caymanians have more places to go to than I do!
20:20, Grow a pair?
Caymanians do have somewhere else to go and work if you have a British Passport, its called the UK and Europe.
Our forefathers went abroad for years to povide for their families, people nowadays seem to forget that. Its called sacrifice. Scrificing for low wages, so at least you are workig, taking a job you don't really want because there is nothig else available, comprende?
It might be worth your while going to the UK in terms of claiming benefits which are crazy good, you get more than most low paying jobs in Cayman, then you could just send it back here!
Wait a minute, that sounds very familiar……
And yes, I am a fellow Caymanian.
Can we call Jerry Spinger??
Here's the problem.
Lets say an employer hires an ex-pat because there are no qualified Caymanians to fill the position. None show up to interview. There are none qualified – period.
Then years go by and that ex-pat who has lived in Cayman now for six years has found love in the Cayman Islands, gotten married in the Cayman Islands, has had two children both born in the Cayman Islands and by all means wants to live in the Cayman Islands for the rest of his/her life. They love the culture, it's people – everything. All the while their work permit is being renewed with nobody coming forward from the NWDA or answering the ads in the paper regarding the permit renewal.
Let's say in year 7 a qualified Caymanian does come around at the time of the work permit renewal. Is it fair to simply fire and destroy the life of the ex-pat and their family, uproot their children from their school(s), leave their friends, sell all their belongings (God forbid they have a mortgage!) because now – 7 years later – there is someone available who at least on paper is qualified for the job, who may or may not be able to fill the shoes of the current employee?
Is it fair to destroy any hopes of the ex-pat's plans of becoming a permanent resident, much less a full fledged CITIZEN of the Cayman Islands? Just because someone else seems to be qualified on paper?
That just doesn't make any sense to me.
Yes?
Expatriats who out of there own desire or willingness take up residency in antoher country should clearly understand that it is not the country and they are not citizens but are generally on work permits which may not be renewed based upon citizens or qualified permanet resiodents being qualified for the job. As adults they should carefully consider all their decisions including children marriage etc. as a stability of residency is not assured. The law is clear and every expat should understand the risks involved.
Thanks, but I will play by my rules.
It makes more sense then a qualified Caymanian not being able to find work in their own country because the expat for some reason didn't seem to understand that a work permit does not provide same rights as people of the country. These rules exist inone form or another in everycountry wishing to do the best by their people.
This isn't just the case in Cayman, this is the case in any other country where as an expat you have to deal with a work permit. The renewal of a work permit isn't guaranteed ever! What should the magic number be? 4 years, 5 years, what?
I have seen many of these cases, and frequently the new person hired subsequently leaves within 3 months, leaving a Company having to find someone else and Cayman losing another family and leaving with resentment. In a couple of cases the company has then called the expat who has left and asked them to come back andmove his family again, that usually goes down well.
Wow are you speaking of my family?
Perhaps they should of thought about that a little sooner
Instead I have been worrying for years, and making plans in the back of my mind
But its too late i will go at a loss to all My children, hopefully they will mature and learn from it
The reality is that thousands of people move around the globe in search of employment, and many do find it. Everyone understands that there are risks involved with establishing one's self in a foreign country.
Should every expat that has "established" himself be allowed to stay at the expense of a local? Typically in the scenario that you described, the locals slowly become the "help".
If you're willing to accept a job abroad, you must be willing to accept the risks.
Jobs in the Cayman Islands are like car warranties…..they don't necessarily last forever and there is no guarantee after the warranty runs out.
Well that's the way things work in Cayman, When Expats come here they should not have any expectation of being able to stay and become part of the community.
That's CayamKind for you..
Do's
Work Hard for Low Pay
Spend all your money locally.
Be willing to give up you job and leave if a Caymanian wants it.
keep you mouth shut and be happy you're here.
Don'ts
Send any money home to save for when you need to go back.
Expect to be excepted as part of the community.
Expect any rights the Caymanians have.
Expect to stay any longer than you are needed.
I am an expat. 13 years here.
I embraced Cayman as you said and very grateful. The only part missing from your argument is that I DID execute succession planning and spoke to my boss about training a local for my job. We took the law seriously and respected it. I trained a Caymanian and got promoted, real win-win. What to do if only 1 role? I would think the expat would evaluate their worth and skills if a local (on paper) could be trained for a role that only had room for 1 person?
I followed the law and embraced succssion planning and am an expat, so disagree- your scenario has the expat and employer "hoping" no local will be suitable and that is just wrong!!
By the way, "hope is not a sound strategy." We should all want our youth to be well educated and take up these roles.
And if the Expat gets through all that, the points system for PR changes again which makes it nigh on impossible to stay anyway…… So the Expat has to leave and still the job is not filled by a Caymanian, just another Expat who starts the whole process again…. just a thought. Oh, and meanwhile the CIG has reeled in probably $100k+ in work permit and other application fees.
Well put. Succession planning is a definite must. Any prudent expat should know this. Complaining that you have to uproot kids anddisrupt your lives is no excuse. You're in a foreign country and there is no free lunch. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
How did expats get their work experience if they didn't get it in their countries? Now, with that thought, how are newly qualified Caymanians to get their work experience if not in their country?
Cayman loves expats, but seriously, we can't love them at the expense of our locals going unemployed with students loans going past due.
The reality is that most of those in positions to hire, are expats on permits or PR, and these expats are more comfortable hiring their own kind because hiring a Caymanian brings on a sense of weakness and less control in the absence of the permit, and there is less chance of reproach. The other reality is that these top exces hire staff that look like they do.
I have never been disappointed by hiring local. It's important to identifylocal talent and the provide mentoring, trainging and support to keep those employees happy.
In an "emerging" market, it's definitely crucial to strike an equal balance between expats and locals.
As for locals, you're not free of criticism here. Work hard, do your best, and remember that employers are just dying for you to botch your chance…….because there is a permit application that's ready and signed. Instead, prove yourself and demonstrate why that application should be torn up.
In order to limit unemployment you have to grow the ecconomy and create jobs. Stimulating growth is all about job creation, attracting overseas companies to set up here creates indirect taxes (money for everyone) and job opportunity. Strangling the private sector with more limitations/fes/fines/ causes them to leave and the jobs go with them…. take a bold stance embrance international business… treat it well and it will look after you… dont blame the businesses that already invested here, even if a few dont toe the line.
Quick question there are 600 new grads in Cayman every year….. guess how many new jobs we need to create every year then…….
No ,I dont think that we need to increase the economy any further. Since there are not sufficient jobs then it is hard to say but who dont belong to here will have to go somewhere else where there are perhaps jobs. Caymanians are already over run.
TO16:29
Your theory would work in a different place but it is a proven fact that it has not worked here in the past, neither will it work in the present nor future. Case in point:-
So replace 600 people with skills and qualifications with 600 people with none? How is that going to work?
Do you think any of the 25,000 expats working here and supporting the economy would remain if they thought for one moment the government might on any day arbitrarily cancel their permit and replace them with someone that had no experience?
The government cannot be everyone's HR manager. If you want that please move to Cuba, it has worked really well for them.
This not only happens in the professional positions but to blue collar workers in the construction industry. In the Brac alone Caymanians are not given the opportunity to learn how to drive heavy equipment or qualify to get their group 4 licence from a certain business entity here. However this business is granted numerous work permits for a certain nationality who come here with no group 4 licence never used heavy equipment in their life but they hire them and train them on the job. Then when the permit is up for renewal it says "must have…… must be able to …..". This is wrong for any corporation to be allowed to train foreigners at the expense of Caymanians being given the same opportunity. It is also dangerous to themselves and the public as these persons get a group 4 licence on a small piece of equipment and are then cut loose on our roads in huge trucks and bulldozers. Ah s….t why do we even bother to waste our time writingthese posts nothing is going to change.
The head line should be changed to:
"Both Bosses and Employees need to be fair"
Employee relations is a two way street; both groups must do their part with integrity and honesty.
Both groups are currently part of the problem and both groups must work to become part of the solution.
Employers must offer training and opportunity; employees must show up with the basic skills, positive attitude, and work ethic to take advantage of the training and opportunity.
Alden and government need to know that it is not just about the NWDA placing persons in jobs but in ensure upward mobility of Caymanians already in the workplace. Too many positions are (1) created specifically for a foreign friend, family member or friend of a friend to be brought in (2) a foreigner is given a position that they are not qualified for or have no experience in (educated yes) at the expense of a Caymanian and then they are trained in the work once they get here either by some other foreigner or insome cases by the Caymanian already at the company who will ultimately have to answer to them even though they have been forced to train them (3) the Caymanian is not even given the opportunity to be trained for the position (4) foreigners in the same positions as many Caymanians in corporations are paid more to do the same job that the Caymanian is doing ie given preferential treatment. It is all BS and has been going on forever with no end in sight as no government past or present has the balls to deal with it.
The NWDA is a waste of time. I have been emailing the manager since July of this year and to date no response. You call this office and no answer. When you do get someone they give you the wrong answer. Dont say it does not happen because someone just called there less than half an hour ago and was told absolute BS. They cant even explain the registration process correctly or properly over the phone.
It is a proper mess.
Yep, doesn't surprise me. Staffed 100% by Caymanians
Government employees are a different bag of tricks! No motivation, no accountability, no sense of reward, and therefore, a don't care attitude. But those examples are not the rule.
Most of those are only 2nd generation. They don't count.
I'm not sure that people realize that while the Department of Immigration/Immigration Boards can (and have done so) refuse a work permit because there is a qualified Caymanian to do the job, they have absolutely no power whatsoever to 'make' that company hire the Caymanian.
Does anyone know of just one instance, where the Dept of Immigration/Immigration Board refused a work permit because a qualified Caymanian applied and the position was then offered to the Caymanian?
I don't think there is.
Gone are the days where a Caymanian can get and keep a job simply on the basis that they are a Caymanian. We need to be competetive in today's workforce. This calls for a change of attitude (we're not entitled to ANYTHING simply because of our nationality). Learn to present yourself properly, I see young Caymanians going to work dressed as if they are ready to hit the clubs on a Friday night. I have also seen Caymanians who looked as if they rolled out of bed and came straight to work without washing their face or brushing their hair.
I personally worked with two Caymanian ladies (and I'm a Caymanian) who constantly complained that they were struggling to make ends meet. Our office offered overtime to anyone who would assist in getting a backlog of work cleared up, you could choose to work as much or as little overtime as you wanted, and also choose the hours that you wanted to work. This exercise was expected to last 6 weeks.
Neither of them took the opportunity. One had children but also had a live-in-helper, the other did not have children or a husband.
Yet they constantly moaned about money, but were not prepared to do ANYTHING to help themselves.
That pretty much sums up the attitude of most (not all) but most Caymanians.
We need to take responsibilites for ourselves and stop expecting the government to fix our problems, which is exactly what got us into this very situation.
If you are a Caymanian who cannot find a job, please ask yourself:
Am I actively looking for a job?
Am I qualifed for the jobs that I'm applying for?
If not, what am I doing to to become qualified for the job I want?
Am I presenting myself to the best of my abilities?
Am I willing to work?
If you go for a job interview and you're not succesful, contact the interviewer and ask for their feedback. Ask where you fell short, ask what you can do to improve your chances at your next interview.
Listen and take their advice.
Please, take responsibility for yourself. Nobody owes you anything.
Good luck to the displaced HSBC and CNB long serving loyal local employees. My spouse was downsized when (a different bank) outsourced some functions and is still looking for a job! Great experience and hard working in the industry, but unemployed too.
I can tell you that no less than 8 times in the past six months we have been turned down for a work permit renewal when equally as qualified.
You rent, I have a mortgage… This is a step in your career, but this is the only country I can work in. Please do not tell is to look overseas. We have children and elderly parents here.
It is not fair, but the law is supposed to favor us so we can survive. Right now, too many talented locals are suffering while work permits are rubber stamped and recruiters ignore our CVs.
This Caymanian thinks that Caymanians who are good workers…95% have jobs. Just because you have a college degree and qualificaitons, doesn't mean you are a good fit for a post in the paper. Companies care about what they think they need to make money, and it might not be you. Is there some nepotism…of course, but thats anywhere you go on Earth. I have been turned down for jobs I was qualified for, but you just keep going. Now I have an excellent job, but you can bet I had to work for it and bend over backwards to get it. Government won't do us any favours by over manipulating the labour market. If you don't have a job, you can find one, even if its one that is "below" you…If you want to live in capitlism, suck it up and adapt.
Tell me one country on Earth that does not have rules in place to try and provide security of work for their people. If a Caymanian is truly qualified they should be given a chance. Sadly the lack of enforcement of the immigration rules in Cayman has given expatriate workers the belief that regardless of the rules, their tenure is secure with the issuance of their first permit on the island.
My son went to a top USA university on a scholarship, worked every weekend to pay extra bills, graduated with honours and came back home to work in his profession. He cannot break into his field (due to work permits) and takes as many odd jobs as he can. So WHEN and HOW can he get hired?
This young Caymanian has been a free intern for experience, advanced his professional certifications with his own money, and has experience! He donates his time to the community and deserves a chance. It is just shameful to see the work permits granted without question when clearly we have qualified locals that WANT to work and have eanred the chance.
The recruiters won't even return his calls. HR is not the new IT, it is pure profit for placements and educated locals are NOT welcome.
The recruiters will not return his calls because these are the examples of Caymanians that they hope to avoid at all cost. Why, employers typicaly like to interview the weak candidates because doing so gives them a lot of excuses when putting pen to papaer, therefore, guaranting the permit is approved. Typical excuses include: Mr. XY applied but has no experience, has had 3 jobs in the past 6 years, doest not speak Russian, and has not attended the PhD programme as required for our call centre receptionist position serving mainly American clients.
I think if Mr. Alden and Franz Manderson did a clean sweep of contracted workers given preference over able and willling Caymanians, enforce fines for bogus work permits, then the private sector will at least know the CIG is following its own advice.
Hear hear! The Civil Service has a contract expat mentality. I know of 3 really great locals that sincerely had all the talent and deserved the middle management (and 1 senior role) who All got passed by for a "contract" overseas worker?! General Registry, CIMA, Customs, GIS all have contract expats where really good locals have been swept under the Franz carpet??
Start with matching govt contract jobs with NWDA? Govt is such a closed crony shop!!
Clean house Govt- Please "walk the walk" and what about the current open positions now? Going to hire qualified locals or another "cousin" from overseas? We have 400 graduates and over 50 university educated unemployed locals looking for work!!
8:04, I deal regularly with General Registry and I can tell you that I and others try to make sure the Caymanian fellow there is not the one we have to deal with as he is hopeless (nice though). The Jamaican lady on the other hand is extremely efficient in every way that he is not. Sorry.
Most of these appointees are UDP or their supporters who are sabotaging the Government. I wish Alden would get that through his skull!!
I just want to know, with all the Caymanians out of work, could Government not find a local director to head up the NWDA? How ironic a foreigner will be heading up a department that was set-up to help Caymanians find work!
@13:01 – I may be wrong, but haven't the last few Directors of NWDA/DER been Caymanians? That place is as useful as tits on a bull.
any employee who is underperforming, lazy, rude….should be discriminated against……
why would someone want to discriminate against employees who you don't have to pay a work permit fee for?????
again honesty is not allowed in this debate…..
just ask every major employer what their gnereral experience is with employing locals…….
once you have that open honest dicussion then this 'issue' can move forward….
Wtf are you trying to say please use proper English and grammar!
And Workers also need to work!!!!!!!
And let's not get started on the employment agencies hiring expats for entry-level administrative positions and getting work permits that can be utilized at any company for temp roles! When I worked at a very well-known retail bank I meant an expat girl, great young lady, but she was in a data entry roll through an agency because her husband worked on-island! Our officials are far away from our society, locked behind their double-doors and with a salary and benefits too high for them to be remotely capable of understanding the normal person's everyday plight, I'd tired of hearing BS from these people, put the political salaries down to CI$50,000 per year and then you'll attract people who can relate and actually do give a hoot!
The Business community have their union. Just like in the U. S. nothing will change here until we have a strong Labor Union
Try that and see how fast businesses leave Cayman.
I am really tired of hearing this….just go if you can't abide by the rules of the country you are operating in.
I will go when I am ready.
Bosses need to be Fair? Yea that'll show em Alden!
Someone needs to tell our premier that Fair is a place that they sell pigs. It doesn't exist in the real world
Sounds like the Immigration Board needs a thump on the head. Why do these members keep granting permits when it's obvious that the permit holders are not only exploiting foreign workers, but depriving Caymanians of their livelihoods?
The message between the lines is clear..the time when anyone could get a lifetime job with the CS without any training, work ethic or skills are over..it's time now for businesses to take over.
Lets look at this from the point of view of most of the rest of the world.
Europe- work hard, work during working hours, do not conduct personal business except in your 1 hour lunch break, do a good job, earn a fair wage. Don't do that and get fired or overlooked for promotion. And it does not matter where you come from, that is what you will be treated like.
USA- pretty much the same as Europe.
Far East- Same as Europe except work longer hours and continually educate yourself.
Latam- pretty much same as Europe except for some strange frills.
Cayman- for expats, same rules as EU, USA, Far East Latam. Dont do the job, get fired and leave Island immediately. Caymanians who fail to meet the standard, rarely fired, if they are fired complex issues on investigations into same-hardly worth the hassle and in SOME (note I say some) take full advantage of that and do bugger all. Others work very hard and make a success. The unfairness here is on the Caymanians and expats, expected to carry those who do not want to work.
The real issue lies with the government failing to educate the people on what happens in the real world, about how you have to work hard to compete in the real world, and not just that people are entitled to a job. No-one outside of Cayman is "entitled" to a job. That kind of thinking is frankly lunacy and if forced through will lead to many more jobs disappearing here. Prejudice and unfairness is a two way street. So, stop blaming the employers and start getting the system right to produce people who understand that and want to work and progress and then the need for many expats will disappear!!! I have often repeated here, the offhsore employers would much rather employ Caymanians-no work permit fees, good for Cayman and Caymanians, however-deadlines have to be met and standards maintained or we will not have any business here.
Some very good points but your analysis is a little limited…all the economic regions you mentioned do have rules for protection of their citizens ability to obtain gainful employment. If you don't believe it next time you go through Miami (if you aren't a US citizen) just tell them your reason for going to the states is to work. In regard to preference of employers, the indentured nature of our work permits (tied to employers and not industry) is a big draw for employers.
The change of attitude starts with enforcing legislation not begging for business to change their attitutes towards locals. This thing is not rocket science Alden all it takes is some political will.
Caymanians are getting very tired of being second class in their own country and the new generations of Caymanians are unfurtunately growing with an agression just like some of our neighbors. All our problems can be fixed with simple solutions however this requires leadership and a concern for your fellow natives which is something that is seriously lacking.
Look at the Compass like regular people and you will see exactly what young people are going through. A recent add wanted 5 years experince for a dishwasher; a F*&^% dishwasher.
One day soon when enough disenfranchised youn people are fed up you will see a huge change in attitude. This is the legacy you are creating because you refused to put your own people first.
Thanks!
You are missing the point. As we saw with rollover, Employers will find a way to evade the law. They also need to be persuaded that it is in their best interests to comply. Sometimes sticks alone don't work.
So things are not going very well for Caymanian workers, but you say "All our problems can be fixed with simple solutions". Please, Mister Concerned, tell us what these simple solutions are and how we can implement them. A lot of us are confused when we read about reducing non-Caymanian workers but bringing in more outsiders to get more consumers to increase business profits.
Glad to and its free.
1. Implemet a social security numbering system so that we can have a true picture of the economy. How many work permits, what types of job, how many un-employed, reason for the un-employment etc. This will seperate the legitimate complaint from the others who like many of you say dont want a job or have been fired from several jobs.
2. Any job advertised must be done so with a work request number which is tied to immigration. This will stop the lying to imigration / NWDA that is so rampant. The jobs can be checked agains the un-employed list.
3. Use the same list to train the long term un-employed for underserved sectors.
Walah! 1 problem solved.
As I keep saying, one good Government who is not concerned about votes is all that is needed to clean up a lot of crap and put Cayman back on the map!
11:19. Could you please state exactly what Alden and his Administration needs to do to convince you that they have Caymanian interests at heart.It seems to me like they are trying,so we should give them achance.
Well for one a minimum wage would be a good start. Don't you agree? Then the reason for hiring a foreigner would go out the door.
Since when did Caymanians get the promotion to second class?
We lower than that.
We are constantly insulted not just by expats but by our own.
Us Caymanians are fast moving from being passive, by passing assertive by becoming aggressive.
Why?
Becaue that is the only way to survive in the Cayman business world of today It has become dog eat dog with the changes to the recent Immigration Law and stated intent of both Mr Bush and Mr McLaughlin to pass laws to ensure the inrease of the foreign population to take it to 100,000 in the next few years at the expense of Caymanians.
100,000 would be the ideal population to generate either income tax or an indirect tax.
Any population smaller than this, especially now, this will cost more per annum to administer, than the taxes gained.
I can see what's on the horizon and that will be the last question from the United Nations mandate committee to the UK. How will the Islands self sustain or generate revenue?
I hope they hurry and increase the population because the sooner they get it to 100k the sooner they will be out of elected office for good and not another 3rd or 4th generation Caymanian will ever hold that office again. Here comes "Human Rights" I see the out come another Fiji but guess what people too late then, no time for I wish I had known.
Part of getting a job is not only experiance and skill but being a person other people want to work with. Its not being second class its haveing some class. Or not. This is where a lot of the unemployable Caymanians get lost. If your an F*&^% but have the skill your still not going to be wanted Caymanian or expat.
Good point however i have seen the "I'm a fun guy" belief of many bosses (expats and Caymanian) being nothing more then dillusional ego. "I'm a fun guy"…First you should understand that although they laugh at your jokes they probably don't think your funny…you are merely their easy to manage fool of a boss.
Thank you very much for this. Let's hope the situation improves. The" Us vs Them" scenario did not exist 10 years ago and fixing the local unemployment and glass ceiling will only imrove our entire community. Acceptance and succession planning must be promoted, not lip service please.
I am a qualified Caymanian in a professional field with an excellent overseas university degree (UK) five+ years of recognized advanced experience and impeccable work references within my industry. Every time I apply for a job advertised in the newspaper or with a recruiter, an expat work permit is granted or renewed (without question.)
I am not asking for charity, only a chance to work in my professional field and support my family. I am an upstanding citizen, unemployed, and regsitered with the NWDA.
Who should receive my application at Immigration? The Business Staffing Board has ignored my CV, industry certifications, and job applications, Enforcement has not replied? I have even hand-delivered copies of my employment applications and references to the "Secretary of the Work Permit Board" but when I have submitted a FOI for follow up, the paperwork has mysteriously dissapeared.
I keep hearing that I am not alone with being well-qualified, white collar, and unemployed. Yet we still have not seen a case of the $20,000 fine? We never hear that a work permit is actually "denied" when a qualified local applies (or the old days like C&W and CUC mentioned, an employee succession plan is enforced with the aproval of the "deferred" pending work permit?)
Can someone give us ONE main email address (or Govt office) to send our qualified job applications to?? The emails sent to recipients at Gov.ky do not appear to be working. Well meaning politicians and the Chamber need some teeth to enforce the laws? What is the next step?
"You are an excellent Caymanian with bla bla bla". Has it occured to you that potential employers may not find you excellent and, while I am sympathetic to your plight, you just may not be good enough. Employers have every reason to want to employ locals but probably cannot find ones of the calibre locally that there business needs. We live in a global economy sadly and you must compete on a global stage for international companies. Instead of whining, why not get feedback from companies where you have unsuccessfully applied for a job and up your game.
I have upped my game. Have glowing references and relevant industry experience. I have volunteered my time with my skills & talents (to grateful charities) and really do have a can-do will-do attitude! I am upped my game, got great interview feedback from HR, but I cannot fight a work permit that was already selected from overseas before I even got the "courtesy interview"??? I pray the CEOs will hire me, but another North American or EU bloke was already on the plane before I got my chance!? The expat pals and expat recruiters have doomed me before my first interview? Thanks HR, not cricket.
Us vs Them….
The Us and Them is what expats expect from McLaughlin. Unfortunately his hatred of expats is all too clear and he has come back i to power learning nothing from his experience.
Doesn't pass the BS smell test.
Before you start preaching to private employers about fairness, perhaps you should clean up your own back yard. Just saying!
Exactly government needs to clean their own back yard first. They have employees on required leave for no reason, they hire foreigners over Caymanians, they pay foreigners more to do the same job that a Caymanian is doing and the list goes on and on.
The more he opens his mouth the more he reveals he is out of touch with business today for locals in his own country. No critism, but just sad.
Don't you worry 10:46 very soon the backyard Cayman will be cleaned, Bahamas style and you won't find BVI "the New Cayman" rather you will realize that they are the next Bermuda. How's that for cleaning our own yard?
Looking forward to it. Although I will be watching it from afar with the rest of the business community.
With three armed robberies in as many nights I would say that Cayman is already being "cleaned up" Bahamas style!
So keep up the good work, you have almost reached your goal.
whilst he may have a point, this is all starting to sound like Alden of old and the xenophobia that brought business to its knees the last time he was in power. Unemployment is a global issue because the world is strugglinig economically. We are no exception. But if he resorts to his sins of the past and no longer striking the right balance but moving to the expat vs Caymanian rants that almost killed business when the PPM was in power the last time, he will sink us all! It was for this very reason that the PPM lost the last time and Caymanians looked to UDP to save us (for right or for wrong). Ironically it was also his excessive spending with the schools at a tiem when we could not afford it, that became the final straw (fortunately for him this sort of mistake in spite of many Caymanians telling him it was a bad idea, doesnt land one in court for abuse of power). He seems incapable of giving up his deep seated hatred for expats (although its cloaked in more moderate rants). Lets hope for the best but prepare for……
not xenophobic, but trying to get our own people back to work to support ourselves
10:46.You are nothing more than a political troll ,who has a personal dislike for Alden. I guess he must be doing something right since you are saying that he hates expats (because he calls for fair treatment of Caymanians),whilst others are saying he is an expat lover (because he changed immigration rules to allow expats to stay here longer and apply for residence).The defeat of PPM in the 2009 elections had absolutely nothing to do with their treatment of expats as you allege,but rather more to do with their spending practices,and the growth of the civil service.Please do not spread misinformation.
Before you cry down the money spent on new schools, please ask the students at CHHS how they are enjoying their new campus as opposed to the old JGHS campus. Look at the exam results as well.
I would enjoy living in a mansion and flying by private jet but if I can't afford it why would I put myself in debt to try to own them. That expense was uncalled for as it helped to put us in debt. The amounts spent to date on that school are nothing short of criminal!
Be sure to also ask them about bullying & drug abuse, and why RCIPS cars have to escort busses to the high schools each day.
What crock. Businesses already bend over backwards and hold onto and promote dead weight to appease nationalist fervor. These moaners don't appreciate how good they have it.
Wow. You’re really good with labels… S+#* head
Not really. They always seem to get stuck in my printer.
Premier McLaughlin and President Moxam seem to have found consensus on this issue.
The message to the business community was clear, more must be done by businesses to help Caymanians secure employment and insure fairness in the employment and promotion process. It was good to hear two Caymanian leaders in their respective roles committed to working together to help Caymanians.
Also – our colleges are still stuck on the past, about 30 years ago there were particular positions that Caymanians targeted, Lawyer, Accountant or Teacher, nowadays the industry is much more vast and these professions are extremely competitive. Our colleges have to find ways of introducing courses that teach Trust Administration and Management, Hedge Fund Administration and Management, Directorship, Investment – these are the industries dominating our islands and trained, qualified Caymanians are few and far between because there is noprovision for it locally, wake the heck up and get with the program! Times have changed and we're still playing the game with half pack of cards
Mention math, and a student cringes because thier parents also taught them how to act in that disrespectful manner. If you think you can compete in the hedge fund world without math, and all you can remember is bland business courses teaching generic business topics, then the only jobs for you is secretarial…unless you know somebody, in which case you will annoy without limit those in the field who actually earned thier stripes -good luck either way without math.
Sign up forthe STEP Courses. Most of the preparation for these exams can be done in the evenings at home. I mostly did my studying on Sunday afternoons
Look at the current adminstration at our colleges and you wil find a band of clueless trash that pat each other on the back constantly and are more obsessed with which church you belong to rather than your skill set.
I had a call this week from a Resident Holder who was bitterly complaining about how Caymanians are treated on their jobs by the expat. She wanted me to get on the Radio talk about it. There was some pregnant woman who needed to use the bathroom and the Jamaican Boss would not let her go to the bathroom. She was most surprised to see that the Caymanian accusation is so true.
Our leaders at our colleges will create a knee-jerk committee on that, because they need to make sure only thier church going buddies get the credit, so any other person with other skill sets is ostracized…its way worse than you could ever imagine when even the univeristy elite are in denial. The best they can do to prepare students for the type of jobs you mention is to "PRAY ABUTIT"
Yes I agree the colleges should be introducing these courses however the businesses need to stop being allowed to bring in foreigners who have no qualifications or experience in these fields and giving them on the job training. This is what happens and this is what the Caymanians are in an uproar about. If you can bring in a foreigner and train them why are you not investing in training a Caymanian on the job. YES THIS DOES HAPPEN. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending or trying to fool us that it does not happen is a joke.
On that note let's get a nursing school going because I hear Shetty's going to need a lot of nurses. He's also going to need some serious staff in various professions from cleaning staff to heart surgeons. I also hear Dart needing some serious staff for that hotel. Let's train the unemployed and place them into positions there. Unemployment problem solved.
Is that what you hear???????????????? Guess what, Shetty can hire his own staff of nurses from India at a much lower cost, and he wont hae to deal cayman nurses stealing drugs, or having certification from a college that is useless in the US because it does not have a residency requirement. Leave it to our colleges to recklesly self promote themselves in the face of facts, because at the end of the day, that professor or director of nursing get her check regarldess if a nurse gets hers.
http://www.ucci.edu.ky/academics/departments/nursing/index.shtml
There is a Nursing school on island – people just have to be motivated and willing to sacrifice as this is a time consuming, yet extremely rewarding job.
If Government wants to do something they have to stop these big organisations from hiding behind the labor law as more and more of the big firms and companies are putting full-time employees on one-year contracts! This enables them to wait until the end of someones contract and then refuse to renew it versus fire and have to pay severence! I know of cases where employees with illnesses have had contracts refused for renewal to avoid the resulting sick days required and treatment support during their time of distress! I have seen and experienced cases where the expat bosses are threatened by the progression of the Caymanians and have terminated employment without cause! How can employment be terminated without a cause??? Well apparently it is legal and can be done because of the one-year contract that is supported by our so called labor law!!! The Government has to stop talking or talk sense! There are many Caymanians who do abuse their positions but then the ones who show too much skill and potential are ousted quickly by expat bosses in order not to raise questions with Immigration! There are also many expats withgenuine concern for Caymanians who do assist to train and put Caymanians where they should be, but there are also others who must protect their positions and thei livelihood and tax-free existence by ensuring by any means necessary that their position is held!
This coming from Moxam who states we need more people here on ths island! HA!
Cayman is over-populated already!
if you hadn't noticed Cayman needs to grow for its economy to survive, or atleast to support the Civil Service and the personal spending/ gambling etc for its repected MLA's
And to have a self sustaining revenue stream whether this be tax or permit fees. Once this happens and the population is in place, watch the politics get a little funky to say the least.
Looking around, I don't think Cig should bank on permit fees. A lot of people leaving soon and the crime, cost of living and corruption is deterring a lot of perspectives candidates from arriving.
PPM and its politically appointed WP, Business Staffing Plan boards must enforce the Immigration law and regulations it's really that simple
It frightened me that Alden cited 2.2% reduction in work permits as evidence the government is doing something positive about unemployment, when the exact opposite is true. This reduction in permits is a sign of a weakening economy, not a positive sign for Caymanian employment.
When are these people going to get it? Getting rid of a work permit holder does not necessarily equal a job for a Caymanian.
Where are you living?
The economy grew over 3%
Caymanian unemployment reduced and so did overall unemployment
Check the ESO report
Yes but the population decreased. GDP is not a good measure of economic activity in cayman.
You keep selling that to us and I hope you are happy with it. The reality is a number of expats start businesses and rent etc but does that really help the poor man. He does not own apartments to rent and the expats tent to hire their own.
The worst past is that we have people buying the BS you are selling.
For God's sake. Why do you think Cayman is so unlike Haiti? Abundant natural resources? How on God's green earth can you say that the "poor man" gets nothing? Who pays for his health care? Who pays for his education? The government. Where do they get their money? The private sector! (Even the trivial amount collected from workers here through import and stamp duty originated as salaries from the private sector).
Yeah Moxam you said it " there was a time when large firms were standard bearers in training and development of local workers such as Cable & Wireless and CUC ".
Why were they allowed to be discontinued by the Chamber, where they are still members?
If you focus on that and encourage such former practices, the economy will be better off.
When those firms invested in Caymanians the money and multiplier effect stayed here and everyone was better off. How many Caymanians do those firms employ today?
In other words Alden is on the side of the those who don't want to work for a living and against businesses who do. Anyone who wishes to start a business here should take note. Hire the hopeless or prepare to do battle with Government.
First time Ive heard that one. Usually he is accused of not caring about Caymanians.
He obviously does not care about Caymanian business owners.
You are an Idiot!
As is anyone that would insinuate that every Caymanian looking for a Job is "hopeless"
The only reason why they might be hopeless, is because their hopes and aspirations have been destroyed by people that think like you!
Unfortunately, the battle with Government you're referring to is far too benign, considering the lenght some employers will go to to avoid having to hire, much less train a Caymanian!
Everyone wants to be a consumer or employer of trained people, they do not grow on tree's, they must be trained and it is your job local business owner, to contribute to that training.
If you are not willing to invest in training don't be surprised if your store gets robbed or your house broken into, on top of that you will be asked to contribute to higher Government fees, invest in Burglar alarms, paying to increase the Police force, paying for legal cost for accused criminals without means and finally, pay for a larger prison population!
You still think those that advocate the hiring (and training) of Caymanians are on the wrong side?
Only an idiot could not see it was only the hoplessly unemployed Caymanians I was talking about. I work with many proffessional and hard working Caymanians every day and enjoy doing so. Stop giving them a bad time.Even if you have the skill and experiance if you come across as an idiot you most likely won't get the job.