Work permit moratorium for builders in Bermuda
(The Royal Gazette): Nine construction companies have been "red-carded" by the Department of Immigration for failing to hire Bermudians. And a "moratorium" was put on all applications for masons, carpenters, landscape gardeners and cleaners. Labour and Immigration Minister David Burch said his department had received a considerable number of complaints, particularly because of construction companies’ "reluctance to hire Bermudians". "As one example, we have received information on a master mason who had applied to ten different construction companies and only one called him back. Happily, the firm who did, hired him and are quite happy with his craftsmanship."
Category: World News
XXXX Of course it misses the core point that the cadre of employees around a managing partner have been the subject of careful selection both conscious and subconscious. It is not a useful point for the majority of those in a business. It is the staff who work at the coal face of the main business where the problem lies. The problem lies with the troublesome intake of the "suitably qualifieds" who are make everyone else’s life hell and who management say we have to put up with to placate Immigration.
The team that reported directly to me was always very much at the coalface. They interacted with other staff at all levels, clients, other outside parties and of course me. Times may well have changed (sad if the case), but I do not recall ever okaying the hiring of anyone at Maples to "placate Immigration".
It’s OK. Bermudan businesses need not worry. It seems that whenever an expatriate is denied a permit to protect a Bermudan, the expatriate is just sent to Cayman to displace a Caymanian from employment in the Cayman branch of the Bermudan company.The Bermudan businesses and people do fine, as does the expatriate. The only people who ultimately suffer as a result of this trade in people are Caymanians – and we only have our own immigration to thank for that.
I know, isn’t the whole system just super!
By the way you can also thank Cayman’s woefully inadequate education system (primary, secondary and attitude to tertiary) too. That makes the Bermuda-Cayman shuffle much much easier.
Usually, what you get out of life does indeed depend on what you put into it. Attitude and behaviour of staff are frequently the direct result of the attitude and behaviour of management. While I was a partner at Maples and Calder, I typically had a team of five/six support staff who reported to me directly. They were all Caymanian and long time employees of the firm. And a majority of them still work for the firm. There were good days and bad days for all of us, but I found regular ‘fire side’chats with the team was the best way to manage everyone’s expectations and to ensure good performance.
So true! When staff are treated fairly across the board and respected by management, they know they had better perform or else…. Unfortunately, we now see many instances where certain staff gets off with murder and nothing happens to them or certain few given perks that most other staff are not entitled to and then management expect not to get attitude from the rest of staff?!
RESPECT is earned, not demanded and it goes both ways.
" So true! When staff are treated fairly across the board and respected by management, they know they had better perform or else…. Unfortunately, we now see many instances where certain staff gets off with murder and nothing happens to them or certain few given perks that most other staff are not entitled to and then management expect not to get attitude from the rest of staff?!"
We must work for the same company.
So true! Unfortunately some managers only know their employees when things go wrong. They do not bother to keep the communication open all of the time. It makes a big difference in the work place.
I have learned one thing from my present company: always check the rate of staff turn over and I don’t mean the rollover policy, I mean how often they have to hire someone for a post. That means it is not a good place to work.
I have read all of the stories posted on this page. We have foreigners protecting foreigners/Caymanians and we have Caymanians protecting foreigners/Caymanians. Ok…Stop!! The foreigners will come to our shores once they are invited to do so…Why complain Caymanians… Why? Our Politicians are placed in power to protect our way of life, unfortunately Immigrants are now a part of our life just for the sake of money. So the equation is Immigrants = money in government coffers…Simple! So when elections hails again, I will certainly remember the ones that fought for Caymanian’s and those that will fight for Caymanians rights. We need politicans who are not greedy and who can relate to matters in regards to Immigration. My belief is that all persons should be treated fairly, including foreigners. Make them come, make them pay, make the companies pay, make our government departments more efficent and productive. The Labour Department need teeth and work permit burden has to move from the Immigration Department. So foreigners..I cannot blame you for being here…You too are looking work and a peaceful place to reside in. I fully and heartfully place all the blame on Caymanians who fail to vote in the proper candidates during election time. If our government fail…we fail! We put them in power, whether its the PPM, UDP, Independents or any new political party. At least in some sense the Bermuda government is protecting its citizens..WHAT IS THE CAYMANIAN GOVERNMENT DOING?
Our office has about 50% Caymanian and 50% expat and has around 70 staff.
If you look at the average sickness so far this calender year per staff the results are fairly startling
Caymanians: 6.8 days average
Expat 1.4 days average
Extrapolating that for the year the company will get almost 2 weeks extra work from the expats and that does not even take into account the unpaid overtime worked on top.
lol… nice contrast
Caymanians have homes, bills to pay, cars to maintain, kids to take to school, an economy that is not well, family issues, fears of losing their jobs by indifferent employees. mortgages to pay… they have it all…
Whereas being a UK expat myself, I have learnt –
We come here and the businesses loan us company cars, we have no bills to pay – that is taking care off, we are given places to stay – the company pays for it. We haveno worries in making a negative impact here, because we can always fly away the next day to our homelands where we are safe. We are able to send our monies down and the conversion rate of our monies is hugh and helps us live easily. We come to work early because we have lesser stress, we don’t have children to feed, nor have to worry about our homes being burglarized before leaving home. We have no one to look up to as a family but our bosses and co-workers.
So… I understand the contrast nicely. I just hate to see the people of this Island lose their jobs because of the indifference I am now seeing from expatriates. I respect Cayman alot and I hope you do so too, because we came here with nothing. Cayman has helped us alot. The worse we can do is bite the hand that is feeding.
you are not a uk expat…. pull the other one….
from a born and bred caymanian……
Sob sob, gulp gulp. There are many of us expats here who do not have the paradisical set up you apparently have. Please bear with us.We don’t get in David Legge’s wonderful magazine because we don’t live in the Yacht Club, Shores, etc etc etc and aren’t invited to those functions featured and don’t have company cars and no company pays our bills.
This is one of the problems dividing us in Cayman. Like you, I’m a UK expat. Many years here. I have had to slog my way through without all the huge financial returns most seem to make. I see people with less qualifications than me living in palaces in Cayman that they would not have in the UK. Ah so it go.
UK Expat – right! Not only is your command of English somewhat suspect, but your understanding of the expat position clearly demonstrates you are not in fact an expat, wheher from the UK or elsewhere. Do you think expats do not care about being burglarised? Why do they have a less stressful existence than Caymanians, and in any event what has stress got to do with coming into work early. It would be more logical to suggest that stressed people do that, or people that do so are stressed as a consequence. And why would anyone working here be wiring in money rather than spending it or sending it home? Admit it – you are a Caymanian who does not like the implication of the previous commentator but is embarrassed to admit it or thinks that claiming to be an expat will cover up the complete lack of any rationality to your suggestion that Caymanians somehow deserve to take more "sick" days than expats, or that expats should not comment on any aspect that reflects badly on Caymanians.
Want to know what gives you away immediately as being untruthful about your country of origin? We do not use "z", we use "s" in words such as "burglarised." Many Brits may have misspelled the word, but never with a "z."
If you are lying about that, why believe any of your comments?
To be more accurate Brits would not use "burglarised" at all, they tend to prefer "burgled".
Of course but this would not have highlighted the "z" and "s" issue which was the instant give away and would apply to many words which actually do exist in English.
thats only a 485% difference!….give them a break..remember we are only guests in ‘their’ country…….zzzzzz
This is similar to many departments of government, Cayman Parrot. The expats cannot get off with it because they will not get renewal of contracts. Nothing happens to Caymanians, many of whom make sure they take every single one of the ten paid sick days they are entitled to per year, but should only take if they are sick. One recent retiree after over 35 years service had not one single year under the ten day limit and many years over that limit.Some years ago, a certain senior civil servant hostile to expats and convinced they were malingering, asked for details on the sick days taken by all employees, Caymanian and expat, in the large departments that person was responsible for. The results had to be suppressed as they were so far from being "on message".
So your conclusion from this extensive data set is that Caymanians are lazy and no good while expats are hard working and good.
Wow you must be a politician in training.
Please tell me the name of your office because I’m a Caymanian and at my office, I had 4 sick days and the boss was writing letters on me. No one can tell you that you can’t take sick days. Get a doctor’s note if they give you problems. I called the Labor Board and that put an end to it.
We should be practising the same moratorium here.
No "employable" Caymanian should be unemployed when we have other nationalities on a work-permit, regardless of their age.
There is too much discrimination against Caymanians for flimsy reasons!
Is he wearing earrings?
Yes, GOOGLEhim. Real colourful character.
What does wearing earings have to do with the issue? Let us stop being so superficial and fickle and look beyond such pettiness.
Remember when you used to smile? And not take everything so seriously?
No, really, you have to check him out 😉 Opens up a whole new facet on this discussion.
I really can’t get past the button down shirt with a tie. Oh dear.
What’s wrong with that? I’ll have to redo my wardrobe.
If you don’t know why that is wrong then there is probably no saving you. Button down, if it is to be worn at all, is a casual shirt. Americans wear button down and ties quite often but most of them would not know style if it hit them in the face with a shovel and said "Hi I am style".
Thanks
De nada.
To Fri 13:03 – Remember ‘Bermuda’ they wear shorts to work too. They are casual. Nice change from the subject but try to stand up for Caymanians against all those bloggers who know nothing about us and are posting only negative comments. Blessings to all the hard workers here and all those who went through a lot of suffering to build Cayman up. GOD rest the souls of all those who have passed on – we thank you so much!!
The shorts are worn according to a very very formal dress code. Bermuda is more formal than Cayman. This man is just badly dressed.
The real difference between Caymanians & Expat workers is the Caymanians don’t have work permits hanging over their heads,
As a Caymanian I will speak the truth there are some really lazy Caymanians, the find every excuse in the book for not being able to do the job, and Mon- Fri they are sick, late for work, etc, but come Fri-Sat they good as gold,asCaymanians absolulately NO ONE should surpass us in our Country, if it is a skilled job we must learn the skill and become experts, if it is a type of field we need to study that field and become experts in that field, we need to get up off our asses and do these things for ourselves, our country is being taken from us because we are sitting down being lazy and letting it happen.
There are good & bad with everything, we have some very hardworking, dedicated, & ambitous Caymanians who pride themselves on their accomplishments and goals, they have excelled in many fields from Doctors, Lawyers, Models, & Musicians when you want something in life all it takes is ambition & determination and Caymanians have this, what we don’t have is the oppurtunity always extended as it should be.
As for the employment of Caymanians vs Expats, anyone who ventures into a business has put themselves into debt to do so, in order to repay that debt that person has to turn a profit, to turn a profit he needs the right staff to help make that happen, if that is not the case and he/she is losing money the owner is putting themselves in finacial problems and what sacriffices that they may have made in order to get this business started may also be on the line so they stand to lose more than just a "job", therefore my fellow Caymanians when "YOU" walk into a place of employment please also walk into that establishment with the knowledge that there is alot "behind the scenes" that you may not know that takes to keep that paycheck in your hand, treat your place of employment as if it was someplace that you worked hard to get started and want to keep going, strive and put out the very very best, because YOU ARE capable of SURPASSING all others. WE can reach to the very top of everything, but only if we really want to.
To all of those who continue to put down Caymanians,
This Ex Pat takes her hat off to you sir for your honest and objective response. You clearly have a good grasp onthe situation both from a commercial perspective and a personal one.
Excellent post.
Thank you Ex-Pat, I am a female and Born Caymanian, who was raised with the instillment that hardwork brings great rewards and ill-gotten gains never remains.
You know a lot of you are using a big broom to make your arguement easy. Caymanians are not all lazy nor are they all hard working. Frankly speaking the hard working Caymanians are being let down by the lazy ones.
My arguement is simple, judge each individual on their own merits dont use a big broom because you yourself are too lazy to check properly each individual.
This is what good management techniques teaches managers – to judge each individual on their own merits.
To ‘hardworker’ quote "Caymanian workers have a history of being lazy, and unreliable period." unquote
Your stupid remark just showshow ignorant you are!! If Caymanians were lazy you certainly would not have the chance to get a job because there would be no CAYMAN for you to work in. We built the islands up when there was nothing here. The hardworking Caymanians that have passed on made sure that the place prospered for the next generation. Check the history of Cayman before posting foolishness!!
People are coming here now and finding a paradise and don’t know a thing about what Cayman was like before and making stupid comments and being ungrateful – and degrading the hardworking people that built the islands up – if you had it so good before why are you not pleased with yourself instead of wasting time posting stupid nonsense!!
Amen!
I and I built the cabin, I and I plant de corn. Didn’t my people before me slave for this country?
Now you look me with such scorn and you eat up all my corn.
We gonna chase these crazy baldheads out of town….
Nobody wan to plant de corn, everbody wan to raid de barn….
Wonderful use of IMPROPER CAPITALISATION both of WHOLE WORDS and specific Words given Capital Letters as if you were typing in German.
This writing style is used to emphasise to educated readers that the contents of posts are ranting gibberish which can be easily skipped.
well said 10:18…….. i support u
what should be the norm is that "those that are offered job’s and work here should be those with proven track RECORD of professional accomplishments thus the priviledged to work in these islands, these would be contributors to the hard work that a lot of CAYMANIANS have done for most their lives and NOT!… those here working to create a RECORD" that they can then in turn use as marketing tools (with Cayman mentioned on a resume is still a BIG sell to an employer any where in the world) to further their selfish ambitions at the expence of country and people.
The CAYMAN ISLANDS was built on HARD WORK, FEAR OF GOD, MANNERS, RESPECT and a hand shake, THAT…. you can believe very few that are allowed to work here know anything about.
t’ek da’t fa ya mou’t now and go lon’g ya bis’nez…..
Re: "Having worked in Bermuda, it is similar to Cayman, in that the locals are pretty much uneducated, they have a poor work ethic, refuse to take orders from a foreigner and generally have a very poor attitdue towards work."
Say wha’?!
I wonder how that logic applies to the UK (and the rest of the EU) at this current time? Is it the same?
As I am sure that you are aware – due to the recent expansion of the EU with its inclusion of Eastern European countries – the UK is now facing the VERY SAME DILEMMA as Cayman.
Newly arrived laborers are forcing out the traditional British counterparts.
These Polish and Lithuanian laborers are considered to be better skilled, possess a superior work ethic and best of all (from an economic standpoint) – will carry out their superior level of tasks for less money!
Hence the recent "surprising" nationalistic (far-Right) political uprising throughout the UK and the rest of Europe. (2009 EU Parliamentary Elections). Of course the BBC and the rest of the mainstream media are connecting this phenomenon to "Islamaphobia" and good ol’ fashioned "racism".
So tell me, seeing that the UK economy / labor force is confronting the very same issues (just speak to any British builder today – that is if you can find one that is still employed!) – does your reasoning apply to them as well?
Are Brits lazy, uneducated, unskilled, disagreeable and desiring an unjustified level of salary?!
(Honestly – the dribble of some people nowadays.)
Some will take any given, though misguided, opportunity to put down Caymanians – all the while ignoring the reality of other countries and perhaps their very own homelands.
Keep your 3rd eye open Cayman – there are a dime a dozen of these sorts in our midst.
Sincerely,
Whodatis
keep sticking your head in the sand…..
just ask any expat/caymanian business owner about their experiences with caymanian employees……..
And yet again – another one has failed to accept the reality of the situation regarding other jurisdictions – clearly their own as evidenced by the "attack mode" stance.
(Look at home many BRITS are LIVING OFF OF THE GOVERNMENT at this very moment!!)
The recently arrived labor force is full effect over there – address that would you?
Does the same logic apply?
I swear – the arrogance of some people!
To 15:26 – take your head out of the sand! What do you know about the Cayman before it became your ‘paradise’?? You know nothing about the hard working Caymanians that built the Islands up! All you talk about is the ones that give Cayman a ‘bad’ name today – this is a different culture with all mixtures here. Try and learn something about people who for example worked for 15 years with one employee without even taken a sick day off! Go learn something about Cayman before posting ignorant comments!
Interesting story….Definitely for hard-working Caymanians getting a fair shot at employment…however Im not sure if it is or will happen..and before we all blame the foreigners…I KNOW of at least 3 appointments in just ONE govt dept over the past 6 months where expats were hired over caymanians with the same qualifications. However the hiring decisions were made by a panel of 3 CAYMANIANS! Seems the people are shooting themselves in the foot!
You make a good point. Caymanians don’t put Caymanians first. Why is that?
So just because the panel was made up of Caymanians they should appoint a Caymanian, irrespective of merit? Caymanians of quality are not so dumb and they are not going to appoint poorly performing Caymanians (usually with bad attitude) just beacause they are Caymanian. Why would anyone do that? You don’t buy a useless car to get you from A to B so…….
My point was that it is meant to be recruitment policy to hire a caymanian if they have the same or better level of qualifications as the expat…if the govt is not doing it which i know for a fact they are not why would others?!??
No, you don’t know "for a fact" that government isn’t hiring caymanians with the same or better qualifications. That is your OPINION, probably because you are one of them not hired because of qualities in yourself that make you significantly inferior to expat applicants so Caymanian hirers are not interested in you.
actually i DO KNOW FOR A FACT!!! I work for the dept in question and know the shortlisted applicants for the three positions i speak of…one used to do the job before spending time overseas then applied for it again only to be overlooked for a less-qualified expat. We dont all come on here and make unsubstantiated comments!!!!
And dont assume….i am 100% expat so you get some facts before you make a statement.
I disagree with this poster, talking about "bad attitudes and poor performance" of the Caymanians. My question is, Have you worked with these persons to know their attitudes? Many of them have proven to be useless, trouble makers in work places, and become hostile to our Caymanians when they stand their grounds. So what happens? they become stagnant in their work places. If you listen to stories being told it would bring tears to your eyes, of the unjust way they are treated.
It is time for the Labour and Immigration Dept.to appoint persons to frequent any organisation which they have complaints on, and listen to the stories. The people are so crafty they write letters against the individuals unknown to them, and make sure to circumvent Sections of the Laws to their satisfaction – We need to stop this blind folding, or behind the back treatment of our Caymanians or pretty soon none of us will have any jobs – then this gives them a chance to infiltrate the system with their friends.
You just don’t get it do you? Just because a person has a piece of paper showing a qualification, or has performed a certain job before – does not automatically entitle them to any such role that is advertised here, or anywhere for that matter. What matters to the employer is not only that you are suitably qualified and skilled, but moreso, that you are competent and able to do the job. There may be a pool of qualified candidates but the one who can evidence productivity, competence, accuracy, client satisfaction, motivation and sheer hard work will always win over other applicants unable to satisfactorily demonstrate this. An employer is investing in you for the future of his company, not so the company can dwindle and die through lack of the necessary attributes to get he job done effectively and efficiently.
Nowwatch as both the numbers of profitable companies and and the quality of work in Burmuda fall. Great example buy the way but not really pertinent to the main problem of getting Burmudians hired. Businesses want skilled, hard working employees. They don’t care if they are local or not. The key words are SKILLED, HARD WORKING.
I wonder how many of these companies would rather not do any more work in Bermuda than to "HAVE TO" hire a certain group of proven lazy and incompetent (workers?) over proven hard and competent workers?
Cayman has the same situation. Caymanian workers have a history of being lazy, and unreliableperiod. Keep trying to hide the facts in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary. Fact: If Cayman had a reputation for educating great workers then there would not be such a need for expats AND there would be less unemployed Caymanians. Not to mention the Government would not have to borrow so much money to pay for all its (workers?) that have helped the governments reputation of screwing up everything they touch. Great workers have no problem getting work. Bad workers cry a lot about the good workers "taking" what they think is theirs because of their "citizenship. This happens all over the world in every country to some extent. Successful companies don’t fall for it.
Want a good job? Start at the bottom and teach yourself to work that job better then the other guys and you won’t have to cry no more.
First of all, I’m not Caymanian, but I find your comment about Caymanian workers having a history of being lazy offensive.
I manage a reasonably sized company and many of my employees (in fact a clear majority) are Caymanian. I worked before in 5 other countries and I do think the average local here is quite capable and hard working, in fact better than most of the countries I worked on.
What I think people fail to recognize is that we do not compare apples to apples when hiring on the margin, let me try to explain this. I believe that the average Caymanian is at least as good if not better than the average worker in the world, but lets look at what you will likely be comparing when hiring on the margin.
The best Caymanians probably do have a job or even their own company as there is lots of opportuinties in this country, so you are more than likely to have the lower than average locals applying for a job. On the other hand, an expat that has taken the decision to abandon his family and country for a job is somebody with initiative and a strong desire to succeed and prosper, not the average person in the country where they come from, there fore you are likely to find your self comparing through interviews expats above average with locals below average, and that is the root of the problem. I’ve seen it before in other countries with similar immigration regimes.
I’m lucky to have found good Caymanians and I believe they are excellent workers, but we need to accept that there is a small percentage of the local population that may have the qualifications but don’t have the attitude or aptitude to be successfull on the private sector, those will be unemployed or work for Government like our honorable FS
If we force companies to employ those people then this Island will sink and we will become a socialist state like Cuba as there would be no incentives to do a good job
I am not Caymanian either and I have worked on Cayman in the construction industry. My opinion (and that’s all it is) was formed by what I saw during my stay, what I was told by the other workers and by what the leaders of construction crews told me. the quote : Even Caymanians don’t hire Caymanians was heard often. And from my perspective made perfect sense. I did however meet a young Caymanian electrician that stood out as a great worker in all respects as well as a few others so its not ALL Caymanians but the percentage of good to bad is not good. My Post is in defence of the companies on Cayman who are already in a bind thanks to the Caymanian way of Government. What they don’t need right now is a reason for the Government of the day to once again make them get rid of the good workers and replace them with a "Caymanian" just for the sake of Caymanian "pride". The problem is not solved at all by making companies hire Caymanian over skill. It can only be solved by teaching skill to Caymanians that want to learn and realizing that working hard is a learned skill and not a given one. Until enough Caymanians show the world that they can step up like an expat the world of the day will continue to see Caymanians for what they have proved themselves to be in the past. All the words and indignities will not changethis perception at all. Only a big change in Caymanian work ethics will. so for all you big cry baby’s out there shut up and get to work and make your bosses happy they hired you.
Having worked in Bermuda, it is similar to Cayman, in that the locals are pretty much uneducated, they have a poor work ethic, refuse to take orders from a foreigner and generally have a very poor attitdue towards work.
Bermuda has been a fading force for years now and this will help to hammer in the final nail in it’s coffin.
The same would happen in Cayman. The banks already struggle to get the work permits for the top staff that they require, if they were forced to take on any more lazy, inadequate, immature idiots they would be getting seriously close to shutting up shop and relocating elsewhere. It is simply not worth doing business in Cayman, the cons are outweighing the pros and if they lost even more good staff and could only replace them with halfwits then they will have to consider the move.
At the lower end of the scale, if I had to pay my cleaner 3 times as much and she had a caymanian work ethic then I wouldn’t hire her any more, neither would anybody else. Her Caymanian employers would go bust. Nobody could afford building work as the cost of labour rises and the quality goes down. 1 month projects suddenly take 6 months and are finished to a poor standard as the caymanian builders were shoddy, stoned and refused to follow orders from their foreman. The Caymanians owning the building firms are gonna go bust.
Caymanians are always given the opportunities but never step up to the plate.
As a Caymanian who knows the truth about the hardworking majority of our people, your negative stance does not bother me. Investigate the employment policies in other countries and you will see for example that the civil service posts are usually reserved for the locals and some posts, (police officers etc) require citizenship to even carry firearms.
We hear the unapologetic prime minister from Australia who stated that foreigners basically need to accept that when you come to a country you need to abide by their rules etc. A couple of years ago some English workers protested the hiring of other Europeans (Spanish, Italian) and it was argued that the English were too lazy to do those particular jobs.
So I could continue to list the public reaction of locals to foreigners in many countries and the firm stand many took to protect their ‘right’ to live and work in their country of origin.
But you see, we do not want to hurt the feelings of the foreign ‘groups’ who insist on their ‘ENTITLEMENT’ to the jobs here and the rights of all their friends and family to follow them here. So we use the fact that yes we need foreign labour and need to be politically correct, to avoid putting in place controls.
Guess what though? many of the people here asserting their rights need to look at what is happening in their own countries because every foreigner who lands on the soil of another country is now allowed to put their flags down and say, ‘Hey, I have human rights and these are my religious views etc and you the host country must abide bu them or else…’ For example, building a mosque near site of 911 disaster??
When will people realise enough is enough?? If you don’t like the rules and laws of another country…please stay home. It really is that simple. Some issues are not negotiable.
Instead of assisting us with preserving our rights, many simply come here assert their needs and label us in order to gain control over opportunities they would never get in their own countries.
So, all I’m saying is…karma is a great teacher, and I hope Caymanians realise that submission to bullies is also a weakness we cannot afford to tolerate. Let us be great workers but not bullied into believing we are the only people on earth not entitled to what opportunities exist in our own country.
I certainly advocate a moratorium on work permits but needless to say our brave leaders will not learn fromt history
I concur with your comments. To expanded further it only shows how ungrateful and condesending the way our Caymanians are potrayed. Please remember "If you go to Rome you do as the Romans do" and haul it after the 7 years.
Where are YOU from? ALL countries have people unwilling to look for, or hold a job. The work permit issue exacerbates the problem and gives many who don’t want to work the excuse they were looking for. But that’s as far as it goes and just remember before you go putting down Caymanians…. those SAME people get in the way of many Caymanians who want to work by whining and snivelling backed by governments who knows where the votes come from…NOT from work permit holders but from the lazy few. You’ll find them everywhere and in any country so back off. Find the real problem before you make moral statements and generalizations.
DIVERSIFY OR DIE!
This is my message to my fellow Caymanians.
Firstly, government needs to introduce a realistic minimum wage in this country and that will decrease a vast amount of the imported / next to slave labour that is so prevalent today.
This type of labor is NOT necessary regardless of what the powers that be may say. It is akin to the "outsourcing" of jobs from the greater western nations. As everyone was caught being over-patriotic in the past 2 decades – the super-rich and elitist leaders of commerce and business in the western nations were busy further expanding their profit margins by way of removing the blue collar jobs from their societies.
We need to open our eyes and use what has become of other societies / nations as an advisory warning.
Government, we need to do away with the levels of poor imported labour in this country. (When I was growing up we had one of the "highest standards of living in the western hemisphere" for goodness sake! Who’s bright idea (cheap labor) was this anyway? The "cheap labor" business model DOES NOT successfully apply to a (tiny) society such as ours! Our politicians are such ignorant lapdogs – turns my stomach at times!)
However, most importantly – we HAVE to DIVERSIFY and RE-THINK our approach to what is a "respectable job" – in these global economic times – ANY JOB is a "respectable job"!!
A Simple Mathematical Solution:
(Minimum Wage + Diversification of Caymanian mindset) – Growing Phenomenon of Cheap / Slave labor = A Chance of a Sound Economic Future for Cayman
"Government, we need to do away with the levels of poor imported labour in this country."
__________
There will always be "poor imported labour" when the local population believes the jobs, which the "poor imported labour" fill, are beneath them. I don’t see any Caymanian housekeepers, supermarket tellers, bag packers, waitresses, waiters or barmen/women around. Obviously all those "poor Caymanians who are out there crying for food" because all the nasty expats are taking their jobs are not yet quite desperate enough to take jobs like that. Until they are, welcome to "poor imported labour"!
While you make very valid points … ummm, did you not see the very first line of my post and did you not get the general theme as well?
You and I are actually on the same page Buddy.
Let me see how could i word this without being contentious.Cayman is a tiny little place in relation to most countries.It is impossible to employ every other nationality,sum of which are large numbers per capita & still have Caymanians robustly employed.Impossible.We all exist in a system that requires money. All of us,therefore if without it,it could be disastrous.No one needs that or wants it.Investors & employers who have earned their money the elbow grease way aren’t hasty to part with it.Thats understandable.Especially with the way the world is today.Caymanians are at a terrible disadvantage in their own country because goverments past & present appease investors/employers by obviously facilitating cheaper labour alternatives,which many in the know in many instances is of lower quality & hastily done.Time is money ofcourse & its even more money when a (>nice<) storm like Ivan stops in. Anyway let me get to my point...am,in our little teeny weeny country there are Caymanians who are crying tears because they have nothing to eat..This is a disgrace.If i give someone a fridge to support my highly influential position,i should also consider their situation to access what is required to have food in it.A stove,a dryer all the same consideration.Cayman,rather than continuing to be a employment agency,which you cannot sustain,export your expertise in finance,management & the like.Surely one of the bright chaps must have considered this.Do it,its almost too late. CNS: Ezzard has began talks of a minimum wage.Thanks. P.s poster doesn't post for thumbs. Here's two up for a moratorium,Mrs Evans,Mr Wong & Caymans most accessable export.
May be someone should distribute this article to the Government. A country needs to lookout for its people!!!!
How could anyone give this comment a thumbs down! and furthermore, the thumbs down outnumber the thumbs up! Kind of proves that the poster was correct. we are outnumbered and being taken advantage of. Butdon’t worry help is on the way! The first real grass-roots for the people party is being formed and we will take our island nation back. go ahead and threaten gloom and doom now and economic disaster. the way I see it only an elite few Caymanians are benefitting from all this "prosperity" so it makes no difference to us. That is why people are waking up to find strangers in their houses and people are being robbed at gunpoint. not making excuses for the criminals, but crime is a symptom of poverty and in our case, the poverty could have easily been avoided.
Time for action man!
You see um thumbin The Crown.Facety.You dun worry bout dem,they could thumb till Jesus come back or till the Rivers run backward.Let me verb on these typical few,who stick their chest out because of where they’re from but you as a Caymanian should not.These few are interesting & constantly aggitate the question “why are you here in Cayman being critical of those you’ve found here & why is it if where your from is great, why do you need Cayman?” They are a breed thats fading with complexities of a superior/inferior nature,the big picture to them is hanging on a wall somewhere.They would have swam to Cayman if they had to,they arrive to drink milk& now they want to count the cows.Typical,typical,typical. I have a vast array of true friends.Americans,Paul Mccartny cousins,those people that play with sticks on the ice,Man from Yard,Welk & Conch season causer’s,people are how you find them.But my people our people are exactly that,good,bad or indifferent.OUR PEOPLE.
Sounds like a familiar story of the Cayman Islands. Work permits unlimited.
XXXXXX if I could hire Caymanians for any of these categories of employees (landscape gardeners and cleaners??!!!), I would, like a shot from a homeowners gun!! I bet the situation there is like here – a bunch of people wanting huge pay rates for poor work and (if you’re lucky) attendance at work 4 days a week.
Interesting.Unfortunately Caymanians spend their money here,so it doesn’t balloon as it does when sent to another country.Thus the need for as you put it “HUGE” pay rates.Are you for real? Palease. Take the peddi cab down to the house with the sand yard in West Bay & tell me if you can point to poor work there.Its only about 150 years or so.Lastly my little exclamation point manufacturer,there’s a list of 275 of cities that are the most exspensive to live in if your a….relocator/transplant/tax avoidee/immigrant/sunseeker/aw heck i just want to get away to that magical place called Cayman,damn it’s hard for me to say it & i wont i dislike that word.Guess what place didn’t make the list? THATS RIGHT!! your pretty smart but if you take a peddi cab from GT to West Bay please dont list any vacancies.
Particularly given the status grants what you are saying is not actually true. If all you are doing is placing a small advert in the back of a paper, you are not really trying all that hard to find someone locally. Yes there are performance issues, but if so, fire the individual – but do not add to stereotypes blacklisting an entire nationality in their own country.
If you understand Caribbean history at all, one thing is clear. 20 years from now, (as it was 30 years ago) and taking one industry as an obvious example, 90% of all hotel workers will be Caymanian. That will be accomplished one of two ways. Either:
1. We will continue as weare, Caymanians will become more and more militant (because they keep being poked by the likes of your comment) and they will rise up, shutting down industry generally leaving everyone hungry for 15 years until someone starts being brave enough to get it going again (with all Caymanian Staff) – ie Bahamas; or
2. Government, Immigration, the Hotels, the Department of Labour, Education, etc need to be better at providing opportunity for suitable Caymanians so that we reach about 80% within 10 years (oh – and the 80% cannot include waiters you got key employee for) .
Alternatively there is the third option …disenfranchise a local populace so much that they rise up to the extent that re-creating what once was (across the wider economy) becomes an impossibility (ie Jamaica).
It is up to you what happens next. Government cutting you off from certain types of worker for a while, where there are obviously Caymanian available if only you look, may be a needed part of preventative medicine right now.
Yeah, I know. Having to pay pensions, overtime, and provide health insurance for employees really sucks – and having to show a 17 year old how to do something before they do it is such an unreasonable strain on your time!
just a stupid comment…
I hope your backers are able to keep their employees as well! Maybe the government should crack down on you all, pertaining to cheap labor
Well done!
That is looking out for your people! Look at the Bahamians! I hope Cayman Islands get on board and become a "watch dog" without springs attached. For too long our politicians are being swayed by wealthy folk and foreignors who all they think about is making the buck! I afraid, it is not all about the private entities making money that will benefit Caymanians. There needs to be a BALANCE – government has to regulate and intervene at times on behalf of its people in order to not only have a free market, but a FAIR MARKET as well.
Google up "MIX ECONOMY" and you will understand where I am coming from 🙂
Yes, please look at Bahamas. There you have a state that thought that the international financial markets would leave their $bn portfolios in the hands of poorly educated muppets when they kicked all the ex-pats out in the 80’s. Guess what? the banking industry left and moved to Cayman. You should be grateful that the expats bring their intellectual capital, which attracts business to keep you in the cushie lifestyles you’ve become used to. I’m sure this place would become a no-go area like many places in Bahamas if we all packed up and left. Next time – just say thank you rather than making ignorant comments.
,Muppets? My dear can you possibly fathom the education of Caymanians Thomas Jefferson,Sir Vassel Johnson,Kenneth Jefferson,George Mccarthy,Norman Bodden,Teacher Mcfield,Steve Mcfield,Finley Josephs,Ray Banker,Harris Mccoy,Dan Scott,Roy Bodden,Leonard Dilbert,Lynden Pindlin was no ones fool either,a true Bahamian visionary.Your misunderstanding the problem,perhaps deliberately.Caymanians dont wish to discomfort anyone & are the most generous people you’ll ever meet.But. Dont be in anyones country & use your position,great or not so great,if you will,as a shoe horn to make others insecure.The fear of muppets is not correct or the nature of the beast.Nepotistic pirates is the answer.Foot Note: Sydney Poitier is a Bahamian actor from a undeveloped island,Rick Fox,Shakara Ledard,Calvin Lockhart,Kourtney Brown.All accomplished actors i’m afraid & all Bahamian.Sir Lynden progressively? Elite Government High School, Bachellor of Law (LLB) Kings College University of London 1952 Called to Middle Temple 1953,respectively.
Just google "Lynden Pindling" (I can spell his name unlike you) and "corrupt" or look throught the Wiki links. . .
“throught”? Pindlin.Pindlin,Pinnnnndlin,i’m a Caymanian you silly Rubber Bander.
Duh! You think?