NWDA seeks fair outcome to job drive
(CNS): In the wake of allegations by an MLA that the recent job drive by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) in partnership with government’s job agency was manipulated, the National Workforce Development Agency (NWDA) has said it still hopes that Caymanian job seekers referred to employers as a result of the exercise would be given “a fair and equitable opportunity to be considered for available employment opportunities”.
MLA Alva Suckoo raised serious concerns last week that the drive was a “deliberate attempt to discredit Caymanians and justify using cheap labour”, rather than a genuine search for local workers.
The NWDA said that there was some miscommunication between it and Suckoo regarding the results and the agency’s role, as well as the information it had received from the CITA. But it admitted it has still not seen the list of jobs and it could not be sure whether or not those positions had been listed on the the agency’s site.
NWDA Director Brian Holland said that CITA had not refused to provide this information to the NWDA and the agency had requested a list. But he did not say why his agency, some three months later, still did not have a copy and added that they would “follow-up with CITA to obtain the list”.
The NWDA has, he said, received CITA’s working spreadsheet that contains the list of participants and the referrals that were made.
“As such, the NWDA is aware of some of the participating companies and the available posts. It is the understanding of the NWDA that CITA is preparing their final report,” Holland added in a short emailed statement, explaining CITA’s role in the drive.
Despite the issues surrounding the drive, as researched by Suckoo, Holland said, “Responsibility for providing Caymanians with a fair and equitable opportunity during the subsequent recruitment process lies with employers.”
He stated that the role of both the NWDA and CITA in the drive was as intermediaries, bringing together job seekers and employers.
“The NWDA supported the efforts by identifying job seekers and CITA identified employers. The employment drive provides a venue to bring these two groups together. It also facilitates the opportunity for job seekers to gather valuable information regarding the hospitality industry and to network with industry professionals. At the close of the event employers are provided with a list of persons referred for the jobs posted with the employment drive,” he said.
The job agency boss added that the NWDA is seeking to formalize the relationship with CITA to strengthen information sharing.
The government MLA for Bodden Town, who has been heavily focused on helping Caymanians to find work and overcome the increasing hurdles that appear to be confronting local job seekers, raised concerns that the job drive was setting Caymanians up to fail. Suckoo said he was concerned that most of the mystery jobs were work permit renewals and the employers took part in the drive with the goal of excluding local applicants rather than assisting them.
Alleging a lack of transparency surrounding the drive, he listed a catalogue of complaints which raised questions about the motivation of employers involved. In a damning review of the exercise, Suckoo said he was determined to address the problems that he believed were preventing local people from working in the tourism sector, as he pointed to the recruitment of cheaper labour from overseas as the root cause of the problem.
Suckoo’s concerns have been supported by recent revelations from Lemuel Hulrlston, the chair of the Minimum Wage Committee, who said last week that Cayman was addicted to cheap labour. He revealed the startling findings of the committee’s research over the last seven months that almost a third of Cayman’s workforce is in or below what will become the minimum wage bracket. The committee’s extensive research has also revealed that anywhere from 60-90% of the information on pay rates supplied by employers to immigration is false and most are paying people much less than the say on permit applications.
Meanwhile, the NWDA is engaged in a survey of its users in an effort to assess their expectations and identify the barriers and challenges faced by the unemployed. Although confidential, the findings are expected to form the basis of a final report. Officials have said that they are seeking the position of the public on whether they believe the government should be investing resources and addressing personal barriers to employment.
The NWDA has been the target of significant criticism as it appears to be powerless in dealing with non-compliant employers when it comes to labour and immigration laws and regulations. The frequent infractions committed by employers when it comes to workplace renewals are now commonplace as bosses seek to hold on to foreign workers they already have on staff rather than replace them with local workers, even though, if a suitably qualified local is available, they must by law give that person priority.
However, with no enforcement of the relevant rules and overseas labour silent when it comes the labour law breaches surrounding pensions, health insurance, holiday pay, overtime and working conditions, employers have become used to renewing permits for low pay staff. Many bosses appear to be paying only lip-service to the requirement for them to replace permit holders with local workers.
Anyone who wishes to document their difficulties finding work can do so by taking part in the NWDA survey online (see here) or at the agency’s offices in Mid Town Plaza by 27 February.
Category: Jobs, Local News
NWDA,
We have to define “unemployment” and ensure that we do not extend the label of unemployed to people who are not in fact unemployed. An unemployed person must be willing, able and actively searching in my opinion. If the person fails to prove that he or she meets those criteria then we must not refer to them as unemployed.
When poor attendance is recorded at UCCI courses, nwda drives, minimum wage discussions one must wonder where are the unemployed? Are they in fact really unemployed or are there people among the unemployed who should be excluded from unemployment statistic?
Here is what I think NDWA should do to really understand the true magnitude of unemployment and assist those who ar unemployed in securing employment:
1. NWDA shoud make all unemployed mandatorily register with the agency, participate on a mandatory basis in any courses prescribed and funded by the agency.
2. NWDA must require the unemployed to prove on a weekly basis that they are actively seeking a job by maintaining a log of all jobs applied for, interviews attended, courses attended.
3. NWDA must assess every unemployed individual and determine if the candidate is work ready and whether any specialist intervention is required (ie. Substance abuse, counseling etc)
4. All unemployed should mandatorily attend resume/cv writing workshops, interviewing skills courses etc as a condition of receiving benefit.
5 NWDA must require all candidates to post their resumes online on the NWDA site and attend any interviews set up by the agency on their behalf.
6. NWDA must require the unemployed to take up the first job offer received even though the candidate would consider himself/herself overqualified.
7. NWDA must assign a social worker to each unemployed and monitor the progress of the unemployed on a weekly basis.
8. NWDA should require all employers to register and post vacancies on the NWDA site while the NWDA site database shoud have the capability to alert each unemployed and their respective social worker when a vacancy matches the skills of a particular candidate.
Start here and let’s understand:
1) how many people are really unemployed
2) the deficiencies of those unemployed
3) the requirements of our labor force – maybe we start giving scholarships for those positions needed in the market rather than giving scholarships to those seeking to be actors, models or prime time boxers.
UCCI is shutting down courses for poor attendance? Really, how about govt saying to UCCI, don’t shut anything down because we have 1000 people needing training. Since we subsidize you with millions a year anyway, here are 60 unemployed who want to be electricians or plumbers, a/c technicians etc.
If there is a will there is a way. My 2 cents.
,
These so called surveys puts the problem of being hired on the person taking the exam; all questions are about the job seeker, not the corrupted hiring process? Why are the unemployed participants asked why the NWdA did not contact them? Given the Survey TWICE? Is NWdA run by a child?
There seems to be quite a few ex-pat restaurant owners in this country. I think you will find that if you interviewed them, all started working at a minimum wage positions in the restaurants in their home countries.
Chefs started as dishwashers, managers started as busboys. With a few years experience and training under their belts, they left home to find fortune. Ask around, none of these guys who have been here 20 years arrived with a bank balance, just some experience, a great attitude towards service, and a willingness to work.
They worked and saved and invested and became partners, then owners. But they worked. I just don’t see that level of commitment to the hospitality industry with the local young people.
I have not been to a restaurant and thought to myself, wow… That kid will have his own place one day, or had a server tell me the Chef was local and just returned from a cooks tour of Europe or Asia…
You can live a pretty good life here if you work hard in your own restaurant. But it is work, and you have to start somewhere.
I wish more young people could see that tourism can be a very lucrative profession.
The cheaper labour imported from overseas is the root cause of the problem.
This is really just another way of saying that the salary expectations of unemployed locals is the root cause of the problem!
If the pay in Cayman is in line with other countries, then the problem cannot be the pay!
That is the problem, its called “CHEAP LABOUR” for a reason!
This statistic is the most obvious BS I’ve ever seen:
“The committee’s extensive research has also revealed that anywhere from 60-90% of the information on pay rates supplied by employers to immigration is false and most are paying people much less than the say on permit applications.”
Your last piece attributed this to Nick Joseph citing “anecdotal evidence”. How on earth can anyone extrapolate “anecdotal evidence” to come up with that kind of statistic???
I guess it’s true what they say that 97% of statistics are completely made up!
The reported statistic relates to the reported treatment of 60 to 90 percent of the very lowest paid categories of expatriate labour relative to their remuneration and statutory entitlements.
This comment makes no sense. And that’s not what was reported so someone needs to correct the record.
What percentage of the lowest paid expatriate labour is it contended receives mandated health insurance, pension, overtime, public holiday pay, paid vacation leave, statutory breaks, steady income at the contracted rate, agreed housing or airfares, works within the role approved on their permit and/or does not have to pay for or contribute to the cost of their own work permit?
As long as expats have no voice abuses will continue, minimum wages law, or no minimum wage law.
What use is this agency exactly?
About as much use as 2 teats on a bull! Totally worthless. They have a Caymanian manager who knows jack crap about HR or placing people in proper jobs, now some Nobel prize winner has gone and hired a rocket scientist to be Director. So the agency is of no use in all terms and references.
It keeps some locals employed.
“…no enforcement of the relevant rules and overseas labour silent when it comes the labour law breaches surrounding pensions, health insurance, holiday pay, overtime and working conditions…”
It’s all about control. Unethical employers like the foreign indentured slaves because the indentured slaves know that if they complain they will be on the next plane home without the resources to sue the employer.
The enemy of the Cayman working class is the Cayman ruling class.
The fix. Not sure if it will ever be fixed because the unethical employers are well connected and obviously think that they are above the law.
Perhaps the Teamsters should be invited to the Island.
On the money Striker although I doubt they would understand what a teammaster is!
Lets just say it is time for some strong unions to start forming up. Also, the unions should be so strong as to make life uncomfortable for shady employers.
Mr Suckoo, good work protect the citizens of the Islands, and show your leadership. I think that if you put one honest person to collect the information of Cayman passport holders of their respective qualifications/ experience/reference, and have all this information to present to the immigration, then whenever one of those people are denied the job, then immigration should have to answer to you and the 1,000 people’s that have signed up to put a end of this BS.
@12:42 – Being the holder of a Caymanian passport does not in and of itself confer authorization to work in the Cayman Islands. You can have a Caymanian passport and still be required to have a work permit in order to legally work in Cayman.
“Suckoo’s concerns have been supported by recent revelations from Lemuel Hulrlston, the chair of the Minimum Wage Committee, who said last week that Cayman was addicted to cheap labour. ”
Wouldn’t that also include those Caymanians who hire helpers at atrocious hourly wages, and expect them to be cook, housekeeper, laundress, taxi and child minder? Why is everyone focusing on just the business owners?
because it far easier to point fingers than look in a mirror and see the problem