ICTA probes C&W head’s right to work
Warren Harding
(CNS): Allegations that local telecommunications company Cable & Wireless (Cayman Islands) Ltd has been misleading the immigration department over its senior management team were given credibility Wednesday when the Information and Communications Technology Authority issued a statement asking for the current CEO’s replacement with a person who is “legally resident in the country”. The telecoms regulator said it launched an inquiry last week into the employment arrangements of senior level managers at C&W that had raised serious concerns about their legal status here.
Suggestions that the company was breaching immigration rules, ignoring Caymanian applications and misleading the authorities about the roles of senior staff appear to have emerged when the ICTA began reviewing the proposed purchase of Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) by Liberty Global.
“The transaction would result in Liberty owning CWC, the parent company of local licensee Cable & Wireless (Cayman Islands) Ltd. The ICTA law requires the authority to approve of a change of ownership of a licensee,” the ICTA stated in response to CNS enquiries.
“In the process of conducting its usual due diligence data gathering related to the change of ownership of Cable & Wireless Cayman Islands, the authority uncovered some troubling irregularities. Although the inquiry is ongoing, the authority feels that due to the information currently before it, it is not appropriate to continue to consider certain individuals as legal officers of the licensee.”
The ICTA said that in order for it to continue discussion with the telecommunications company, it had requested that a new chief executive officer was appointed “who is an individual employed by the licensee and legally resident in the country”.
CNS learned Wednesday that the current CEO, Warren Harding, had been “taken off the job” on Tuesday, along with other senior managers at the firm, once heralded for the number of local staff it employed, as investigations into their legal working status continues. Allegations have also been made regarding other possible work permit infractions, for which fines have reportedly been made over a failure to disclose details of Caymanian applicants for posts that went to foreign nationals.
CNS contacted the ICTA, the ministry responsible for immigration and C&W. While the ICTA confirmed there was an issue CNS continues to wait on a response from the ministry of home affairs and C&W.
Category: Jobs, Local News
Has anyone stopped to wonder why now? Interesting to know who owns C3 and is trying to compete in the same market? Need I say more. First the radio, then the TV station and talk show control. Hmmm!!
You people seem to think that C&W is a Cayman company. It really isn’t. Keep screwing with them and you will have the opportunity to have CIG try to run the equipment or try to find someones’s brother-in-law to do it. Good luck with that (think turtle farm, cayman airways, tv station and roads authority.) You may find you don’t have enough money to subsidize all this crap.
Which attorney can I contact who will take my case to sue the Government, Immigration and the NWDA for lack of protection against unemployment and systemic discrimination against Caymanians?
As an unemployed Caymanian, I have copies of multiple executive jobs that I am qualified for that I have proof of applying for in the past few months, yet NOT ONE of these companies has even responded in order to allow me an opportunity to interview.
Still waiting for anyone in the NWDA to confirm with Immigration if the positions advertised that I applied for were processed or approved for a work permit on behalf of a non-Caymanian.
Now with the timing factor most glaringly obvious, the day after giving the Ministry my notice of intent to sue to protect my rights, the NWDA proceeds to further retaliate against me by attempting to intimidate me. This bullying tactic was because I failed to obey a civil servant’s illegal order that stemmed from a valid complaint to the Ministry of a certain civil servant’s screaming attitude (and face literally turning red) towards me while I was using the resources in the office job searching, which eventually brought out management to diffuse the situation after hearing the ruckus that their staff member was causing.
Regarding Employment, Article 23(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the Geneva Convention states that:
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
Regarding Non-discrimination, Section 16, of the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 states that:
(1) Subject to subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6), government shall not treat any person in a discriminatory manner in respect of the rights under this Part of the Constitution.
(5) Nothing in any law shall be held to contravene subsection (1) to the extent that it requires a person to be a Caymanian, or to possess any other qualification (not being a qualification specifically relating to any such description of grounds as is mentioned in subsection (2)) in order to be eligible for appointment to any office in the public service or in a disciplined force or any office in the service of a local government authority or of a body corporate established directly by any law for public purposes.
If you don’t understand that complaining about things all the time makes you unemployable then you will never get it. And we only have your word that you are not only qualified but capable…however if your own are turning on you, would indicate some problem, right?
My Bachelors degree, various certificates and timed typing test of 63 words per minute with no errors have been provided.
And I agree with you that to blackball someone for legitimately blowing the whistle on the illegal behaviour on the part of a civil servant, in the past and even still now, has created a culture of punishing those who complain by making them unemployable.
However, the fact remains that, in Court, the evidence will show that I have applied for these various vacancies and that I am capable of doing the work as advertised.
And isn’t that what the Ready2WorkKY Programme promotes…that Government will pay the salaries of qualified Caymanians to these employers by giving the employers a free “test run” to see these Caymanians in action, all in the hopes that the employers will offer the Caymanians a permanent job placement after the initial 6-month period?
@Anonymous… Wow…..so this person should just swallow injustice…justice delayed is justice denied. If you’re a Caymanian you should read your reply and adjust your thinking.
“First they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
THEN YOU WIN!”
~Mahatma Gandhi
Then they shoot you
Why would anyone want to hire a lawsuit. That’s what hiring you sounds like.
Why would any legitimate business choose to operate their activities illegally?
I disagree that hiring me is like hiring a lawsuit…I am not the problem here. The problem is being done against me, and all I am saying is that “What you are doing is illegal. I do not want you to do this to me.” How is that “hiring a lawsuit”? A lawsuit would ONLY considered because of the illegal actions of the employer and a complicit Government shirking their responsibilities to Caymanians under the law.
An employee is expected to dependably show up on time when they are supposed to be there, they are to be respectable and honourable in their behaviour at work, they are to faithfully complete the tasks that are assigned by their employer in a timely and acceptable manner.
In return, an employer does NOT have the right to arbitrarily scream, intimidate, humiliate an employee, continually move the goal posts as they want to arbitrarily, threaten you if you question why they have not paid into your pension, on pay day tell you things came up and then when they finally do give you your check nearly a week late and you take it to the bank to cash it, the bank slides it right back to you stamped Non-Sufficient Funds, things like that.
I take employment seriously and have an exemplary work ethic, so I expect no less with the team I work with. It is common that I’ll be the first to show up and last to leave. I show up and do what I’m supposed to do. And whatever my boss needs me to do, I don’t hesitate.
So if an employer engages in ANY activity that violates the rights as a Caymanian that I have TAKEN THE TIME TO LEARN in the Constitution and the Human Rights Declaration, then we most assuredly will be having this discussion in Court. No hard feelings.
And, according to the law, as a citizen of the Cayman Islands, I have a right for protection against unemployment from our Government. And an employer does NOT have the right to discriminate against me and process work permits for non-Caymanians because they can push around expats more than they can Caymanians.
When all things being equal and I meet the qualifications as advertised, there are legal protections that can be enforced against rogue civil servants, government officials and unscrupulous employers. Even if they are used to corruption, they still have to follow the law when told by a Court to do so.
Do you believe that a convicted child molester should be give a job in child care just because he/she has all of the qualifications and experience necessary for the job?
Perhaps there is something else in your past that you have not revealed.
Perhaps there is nothing in my past that I have not revealed.
With all the importance I place on my responsibility trying to get a job, finishing another educational certificate online and learning more while I am waiting for an employment opportunity as a Caymanian in the Cayman Islands where we are recruiting over 23,000 non-Caymanians from all over the world to come here for employment, registering with Government for the free training they offer, volunteering in response to a call for the community to help a particular neuropathy person whose right hand is dead and who has limited mobility now…to go to his home two hours a week to clean, or do laundry for him, or to soak his feet, or to rub his hand for movement and to help stimulate the nerves, or to accompany him to the beach for him to soak in a sea-water bath or stick his hands in the sand…whatever is needed of me, that is what I do.
But, there just seems to always be those certain members of society who never have anything good to say about Caymanians no matter what they do. That is why it matters not to me what others THINK of us, but it is more important to me what God KNOWS of me, and to make sure that I walk in tandem on the right path and what my God-given abilities are.
This is why it doesn’t surprise me that no matter how obvious the exploitation of the Caymanian situation that is presented, some people will attempt to get mad at the fact that a Caymanian is standing up for their rights against the establishment. These same people in society seem to attempt to digress away from the point of the matter and always seem to want to denigrate Caymanians.
And even though everyone has a right to their opinion and I would vigorously defend your right to have that opinion even if we disagree on a particular point, I can’t control anyone else’s opinion or behaviour, nor do I want that burden. But as a generational and degreed Caymanian, I will not apologise for REFUSING TO BE EXPLOITED OR MISTREATED. We all have laws that not even the Government or companies favouring non-Caymanian workers have to abide by.
So, all I can say is that even though I might not be gainfully employed, I am gainfully occupied. Unless you are willing to be a part of the solution by sharing the name of an attorney willing to sue the Government, it is actually very time-consuming to be distracted off-course by circular conversation. Thanks anyway for your input.
#MicDrop
In the meantime have you taken a job that you consider beneath you in the interim to show your work ethic? No? Why not?
I am not to the point of desperation, and I can thrive in most any environment, so I wasn’t really consciously trying to “show my work ethic” to the NWDA, as you put it. It was already in me, and I just was doing what I know to be right, even though I have an Article 23(1) human right to freely choose any employment opportunity that is presented.
However, ironically I did take the ONLY LEGAL job that was ever offered to me, which was passing out flyers for 3 hours for $75 for one day. Even though I had never done that before, after coming on board, it seemed a bit disorganised to me in that there could have been a more efficient way to run the company’s promotion, but that was beyond the scope of what I was there being paid to do. I was there to pass out flyers, and that’s what I did.
It was supposed to be a 6-hour gig, but I strategically selected a location that I knew to have a lot of high-volume foot traffic and finished my assignment in 2 hours. I actually had to coach my young teammate on a more effective way to pass out the flyers to the public who were passing by going about their daily routine, instead of how she was stopping them and trying to engage them in a conversation to explain about the new promotion. The flyer was self-explanatory, so I explained to her that it really only required us showing up in our uniform with a smile, giving a quick greeting, and completing by saying not even 10 words naming the company and the incredible cut-rate price that perhaps 80% of the people we engaged were using of this type of service from a competitor, since this company was reintroducing their service into Cayman after being shut down by the authorities. And if the people wanted to engage in any conversation after that, then by all means, have a short chat. After a little bit of training, we kept it moving and worked like dynamite.
Out of the 25,000 that the company ordered for all 16 workers, not only did my team finish our distribution within 2 hours, but we kept on working while another team took an early break and came by our location. We actually helped them out by taking half of their flyers! When I attended the training session the day prior, we were told that once we finished passing out our allotment, we were done for the day and we could leave, and we would still get paid the same $75. So I could have left after we finished our lot after 2 hours.
#WorkEthic #BiggerPicture #TeamPlayer
All this while the Government pays over $2,000 a month for my housing, food and other benefits for me to sit at home with all my credentials, while they CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THE MYTH that somehow agreeing to approve a basic work permit fee and collect the yearly $375 work permit fee for a non-Caymanian to displace a generational Caymanian is more prudent!
Oh, by the way…the only other “kind of” job prospect I had was a brief encounter that happened on my way to the local corner store. I was just approaching the door right after the neighbourhood (and reportedly, one of the islands biggest) drug dealer was arriving, and he asked me if I still haven’t found a job yet, and that he was going to see if he could find me a job.
I had to burst out laughing right there and then on the spot…all this, never used an illegal drug in my life, don’t smoke, don’t drink, strong in my faith, patriotic to the bone…and the idea that I left Cayman on a Government scholarship, graduated with a Bachelors degree, eventually came back home to become unemployed to the point of SLINGING SOME CRACK???
Anyway you look at it, the Government (and society) loses in every way to think that oppressing Caymanians by denying them the opportunity to work, leaving them to the wiles and trickeries of other forces that the existence of poverty caused by their unemployment squarely places at their doorstep…then, with the potential of the Government then paying out thousands of dollars of public assistance PER MONTH for the unemployed Caymanian to remain unemployed…only for a more desperate Caymanian than me to entertain the option of taking up the employ of the neighbourhood drug dealer…only to then cost the Government over $73,000 a year to incarcerate that same unemployed Caymanian! Where does society win? How does Government win? How does the unemployed Caymanian win???
Whoever is doing the math in Government who can’t realise that even from the most expensive permit fee that they receive for $30,000 per year, GOVERNMENT STILL PAYS MORE to keep a Caymanian at home or incarcerate someone who is frustrated with being exploited by their own Government! And the Needs Assessment Unit is bursting at the seams with thousands more of us, as was reported to the Legislative Assembly under direct NAU questioning! And many more coming under this lack of political will and planning. This is why someone like me has no other viable alternative but to seek the intervention and correction of the Court.
The unemployed Caymanian’s struggle is real, my Friend!
Read my friend’s book soon to be published in the UK, “The mercenaries who killed C&W”. People forgot that the company reached it’s peak when all the F1 staff were sent home and locals across the Caribbean were properly trained. The problem started when the big wigs thought locals were doing too well, so they always raised the bar, never gave them the required finances so they started to ALWAYS seem to be failing. They frustrated some soo much that they left the company.
Now they have brought back the mercenaries to destroy the company.
The company’s ethics are down the drain. The ICTA is only acting on the ICTA Law. The immigration acted on the application of a “reputable” company and issued a permit meeting or whatever?…the company betrayed that trust and good relationship by breaking the law. In the USA or UK they would go to jail.
One wonders what happened to the CEO before him and the 3 top officials who were unceremoniously dismissed last year. Seems like Harding hurriedly came to Cayman and was unable to get his immigration status properly sorted.
Again breaking the law by filling a position without advertising it and allowing locals to apply.
Pease don’t talk about competency. Locals often have to train the mercenaries to manage them. So why couldn’t the locals get the job in the first place?
Well i tell you the spirit of slavery still persists. It’s a vicious cycle. They are back!!
What were the slave masters’ names in Cayman again? They seem to have slipped my memory…
some of former ‘slave masters’…. maybe Bodden, McTaggarts, Pantons??? You know the white Caymanians from Jamaica who came here with their slaves
Why is everyone acting so surprised at this. This practice is and has been going on in Cayman forever. The large corporations, law firms, banking etc. have been doing this all along but they pay the big bucks to Immigration and they bring in the big bucks to the Islands so nothing is done. The Labour Department finds this all the time and the powers that be just sweep it under the carpet. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ nothing new here and nothing going to change.
It is called corruption, but the Premier denies it exists.
Does that means I get my points back they stole from me?
I got a few words for Immigration and ICTA..(((Keep Digging You Will Find More))) Lots of unjust abuse to locals unfair dismissals unfair demotions unfair promotions of foreigners going on in that place..
It makes me sad when the Immigration Dept as a whole is criticised. I have dealt with a few very competent Deputy Heads. They can hold their heads high.
While payback is sweet, it is a good decision. Yes any public utility in the Cayman Islands must have a full time resident CEO and management team incorporating all the functions. This is one of the worlds largest financial centres and must be treated as such by any public utility or such authority.
All the equipment and services that are hosted overseas must also be brought back as well, so as to deliver on their promises and create employment for our people and not build up other economies. The group C&W CEO in Miami stated that he regarded the individual companies in the islands as “fiefdoms”, so no wonder with such an attitude that he expects to have a transient management team. The Bahamians and the Trinis though are their match for this relic of colonialism.
so no HR department , No Immigration checks, it took a sale of the company to find this out. Really HR departments in large companies are a JOKE in any case just there to push paper in any direction the CEO/COO tells them to . Immigration department just need to be completely overhauled .
WHAT IS GOING ON HEAR!!!!!!!!
Nothing to HEAR. There is nothing going on HERE. STOP SHOUTING, especially when you cant say your words correctly.
Why is it an immigration issue suppose it was posed to immigration just the same to Icta no changes occurred. They depend a lot on the companies to tell them of purchases and take overs, mergers and selling of companies. Immigration does not check to see if the person’s are here 365 days a year. If they did then they would be charged with trying to run the business.
A lot of assumptions here but no real detail. I would say the so called HR Manager who I heard really has no experience should have advised the right persons in government of personnel changes.
The Immigration law provides, at section 46, that no person in a professional position should be given a work permit unless they reside here. Makes sense.
Yeah HR should of helped on this one wth he doing?
FLOW HR is a joke. Some young inexperience guy who is never in office and never has time to respond to local staff. He need to go as well!
This is a caymanian HR so what you all saying?
This is common practice. When one applies for residency with a different job title they had previously when applying their work permits, the residency board queries it. The person simple writes a letter stating that they no longer want the “new” job title. They revert to their “old” title, but keep the salary and perks with the promotions they gotten and the issue falls away.
Immigration needs to get their heads out of their backsides. Perhaps reading some ads in the paper and on EcayTrade where people constantly looking for a “days work” would also help?!?!
Huh??!!
This unethical conduct is normal for companies in the Cayman Islands. We have a government that does not want or is not able to protect local or expat worker’s from workplace discrimination so these types of things should be expected.
Yes! Caymanian employers not paying pensions, not paying health..unethical but acceptable as long as they are Caymanian..
I can assure you that I hate Flow…Lime…C&W…whatever they are called! But, they are the largest employer of Caymanians after Government. Something to keep in mind.
Exactly and the witch hunt against them is wrong.
Actually that is not true. That would be CUC.
that was in the pass not anymore my dear locals are few and far apart overworked underpaid unappreciated
Government should stay out of business and let people run their organizations as they see fit. An occasional ‘thank you’ would be appreciated but I’m not holding my breath.
In a free market and capitalist system Government should certainly not be telling the private sector who they should be hiring in terms of senior management. Instead they should be focussing solely on the 25% of foreigners who make up the CIG workforce.
CIG GET YOUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER FIRST.
This is true of most organisations in Cayman …. across many fields
All jokes aside, can we imagine the fallout if the CEO of a major national telecommunications company was discovered to have broken immigration laws in the USA or UK?
These types of offences have been going on for far too long in Cayman and the guilty are intimately aware of the intricate details of their crimes. Worst of all, they do so with the advice and guidance by the supposed best and brightest of our on-island legal minds. Needless to say, many of which hail from similar jurisdictions and backgrounds as the CEO in question.
Oh my beloved Cayman – the land where 1st world citizens go and commit the most 3rd world of criminal offences and immoral trickery.
I guess that is what happens when you’ve created a highly attractive country, people, society and culture.
Better luck next time fella.
– Who
Of course Caymanians are filling up the prison service and 2 of the biggest frauds the island has seen when not committed by Caymanians (whether paper or real).
Really? Is this really your comeback guy?
I guarantee you will find that the MAJORITY of prisoners in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany etc are native born citizens of the respective countries – therefore it is only expected that Caymanians would make up a sizeable portion of Cayman’s prison.
:-/
Wow…when ignorance and hatred drives one mind to the most absurd of declarations. You are awesome.
– Who
Percentage of population my friend. Percentage of population….
Except your post specifically said that Cayman was the land where 1st world citizens go to commit 3rd world offences, rather inviting the comparison with home grown criminality.as a relative measure.
BTW, whilst I would agree one would expect locals to be in the majority of prison occupants in most countries, as you assert, this is Cayman where more than 50% of the adult population is expat but 90% of the criminals are Caymanian.
The 2011 census for the UK shows that roughly 13% of prisoners are foreigners, whereas foreign born individuals are 11% of the population. Broadly consistent. In Cayman we have approx 18000 voters, and more than 22000 WP holders. So you are looking at foreigners being a greater % of adults than Caymanians, but still 90 % of the total population of prisoners being Caymanian. But hey, don’t let facts interfere with your prejudices. As you say, ignorance and hatred drives one mind to the most absurd of declarations.
Where did you get the 90% figure from? Do you realise that “foreign born” would include the status holders that you are including as Caymanians? Considering the police clearance checks that are supposed to have occurred with respect to permit holders the percentage should be miniscule, but it isn’t. What were you saying about ignorance and hatred again?
Wow … this guy really went and researched UK prison stats after reading my post, lol!! Oh dear …
Anyway, in response I will simply say; an overwhelming majority of the “criminals” in Cayman’s Northward prison are there for doing the same thing XXXXX, yourself, and millions of Brits have likely done with absolutely no serious legal consequences – smoking or possessing marijuana.
Therefore my friend, we have to bear these facts in mind when we decide to play wise-guy online.
Just sayin…
– Whodatis
P.S. Having passed through the British tertiary education system, I know firsthand of the marijuana culture therein. Not only because your supple British young ladies used to come knocking on my dorm door scantily dressed at 2 in the morning talking ’bout;
“You’re the Jamaica bloke right? Ummm…do you have any grass for me and my friends??”
(I’ll let you fill in the rest.)
😉
@Whodatis – because Cayman women are so classy?
You missed the point. The British women were simply a side-note.
Yo’ mama!
Hi Whodatis,
You assert that, “an overwhelming majority of the “criminals” in Cayman’s Northward prison are there” (paraphrasing) because they are ganja smokers or possessors.
I am not saying you are wrong, but questioning if you have any statistics to back this up?
Kindest regards,
Truthseeker
Maybe “Jotnar” can put his keen research skills to work and provide you with your requested statistics.
– Whodatis
All jokes aside, good luck finding a Caymanian who is that experienced. Flow is a joke, mainly because it isn’t run on a day to day basis from outside of the Caribbean. Incompetence and second class customer service is the norm for this part of the world, so I’d guess you’ll need all the help you can get.
That’s why the local prison is full of Caymanian criminals with generational Caymanian names. There would be more, but we know what getting justice is like here on Cayman, too many blind eyes, deaf ears and familial connections to put the rest away.
Pray tell, what people other than locals with “generational” names make up the majority percentage of prisoners in the respective country?
My goodness the absurdity is on Level 5 in here today.
However, your sentiments, which are clearly very common in our midst today, are actually very revealing of your mindset. I could go further but I’m sure you and your like-minded friends are smart enough to connect the dots for yourselves.
Lastly, please do our society a favour and do not instil your twisted values in your Caymanian-born kids. We don’t need that poison mingling in the generation of Caymanians to come. Although, feel free to remain the prejudiced and biased person that you are. Deal?
*Actually, what is happening in Cayman should be made into a case study. We are devolving from something unique, prosperous and unexpected in the wake of western history into the typical cesspool of western cities and countries with all of its ills that are now widely regarded as inherent to particular groups.
Interesting to see the coincidence of a particular mindset – no doubt present at the influential levels of Cayman society as well.
Very interesting … for those that can be bothered to broaden their minds and understanding that is.
– Whodatis
Its only level 5 because you keep writing! Quality would improve dramatically if you stopped.
So no moral dilemmas with Caymanians? No criminal offenses? No corruption? No use of Government credit cards or Gas boy cards? Nothing to see in Cayman. As usual shooting at things you know little about and not looking in the mirror.
If a billion dollar corporation with millions invested in either UK or USA was to come into these countries I can assure you that CEO and senior management immigration approval would be automatic. You need to get off this island and see how business operates in the developed world. CIG myophia is killing the private sector in Cayman.
Interesting that the ICTA should be the body addressing this issue. I have to wonder why immigration hasnt addressed this legal point. The premier really must ensure that immigration has suitable legal advice. And this cuts both ways. We can’t have immigration taking draconian measures against the public that are actually illegal. The immigration boards are perhaps functioning at their worst and they need to move from under the premier and back to the DG.
I can assure you this is not the only company allegedly pulling these tricks…how about Immigration especially the Business Board really look into some of these companies e.g. banks, Hedge fund Companies, and see what really is going on. This is not about Caymanian vs expat so let’s not get started with that. This is about fairness in the work place, and people moving up ranks properly and being promoted correctly because the individual is qualified, proved themselves and bottom line is capable of handling the position. There are several Çaymanian’s recently that have left the work place due to this situation and they were more than capable of handling the top jobs same applies to some expats who left due to the same stupidity. So bottom line, if you aren’t in with the top dogs then forget it which is wrong. Immigration needs to do a better job, Business Board needs to really look into the businesses and Government needs to stop sitting on their asses and pretend they have no clue what is going on.
Hear hear! A few local banks recently downsized? Yet, somehow the NEW replacement expat staff comes from these same defunct banks without ANY interviews of qualified locals? huh??
I AGREE the Immigration Board and Business Staffing has gone simply wild without ANY checks and balances? We are NOT helping ourselves by rubber-stamping permits while over 2,000 locals are taking Public Assistance? come ON…
The Immigration Board (even at policy based temp permits) is listening to ONLY their local cronies and NOT following the LAWs. It is shameful to see so much corruption at so many levels with zero enforcement. Where is Immigration Enforcement? Asleep and away for sure…..
As for C&W, they stopped hiring GOOD locals when Timmy left, period. What was once a great training ground for talented IT Caymanians is now sadly
In over 20 years of conducting business banking on the Cayman Islands I am yet to meet a ‘local’ who is competent enough to handle my considerable affairs.
Appalling levels of literacy, numeracy, social interaction, customer service and basic banking knowledge are endemic and the same is systemic in local Cayman society.
By no means do I include all Caymanians in this description, but almost all that I have had contact with in the banking industry are certainly found wanting when compared to other jurisdictions that I deal with.
It is interesting that you always refer to the default of these mythical local talents when you have no clue what the outside world expects from high ranking CEO’s or any other professional. Your statements are based on a biased point of view, if not basic ignorance of the subject matter, understandably it could be said.
Of course, this is only my opinion, as it is yours, but mine is based on 60 years of conducting international business, what’s yours?
The usual self-promotional delusions of grandeur shared by many ex-pat managers.
Wow. Your articulate and detailed rebuttal appears to completely confirm the poster’s points. It was one small step above “I know you are but what am I?”
-Isme
I would agree with this statement if I didn’t know so many people who are now “executives” when they came to Cayman as servers, PA’s, etc. There is a certain leading firm in the hedge fund admin business–owned by a local–that has nothing but personal assistants turned CEO’s and COO’s and Global Head’s and whatever else they can make up. There are very few “high ranking CEO” expats coming to Cayman from the world stage…my point is…if you can train an expat bartender to be an “executive” you can train a Caymanian to do just the same…
what do youhave against bartenders
I have worked closely with non local CEO in the banking Industry and as a highly experienced competent qualified Caymanian what I can safely say is lacking, is my inability to LIE! Yes that’s right, no matter how much education or experience or talent a local has, the key qualification for a CEO is the ability to lie and spin a great consistent story! Lie to auditors to regulators to shareholders to staff and ensure you control vet or muddy all truths that the Board of Directors should know. As a Caymanian, if you are not prepared to do that then you will never succeed.
I would suspect that your “considerable affairs” over 20 years is really inconsiderable to the bank. You are probably just a whiner that they would like to get rid of as a customer so they assign their most incompetent or their best actor/actress to look after your “considerable affairs” in the hope that they can get you to close your account and go be a nuisance to some other banking institution.
Ooopsies!
Apparently there is a wrench in the proverbial wheel turning towards the “Australia-ization” of the Cayman Islands.
Please expect many more similar examples in the future. We’re on the case(s).
– Whodatis
Who is on the case? Same old, all talk no action.
G’day mate. Throw another shrimp on the barbie’ why don’t ya – and crack me a cold XXXX while yer at it mate!
– Who
😀
You should be so lucky, you’re not worthy of such an accolade.
Yup, I’m sure the cayman people would be fortunate if they were treated like the native Australian.(sarcasm if you can detect it). I presume if it were in the early 1900’s they would try to do an tazmainian clensing too. Smh
The Caymanian children would also be fortunate to be removed from their parents and adopted into white expatriate families as it would civilise them at last.
– Whodatis
(The spirit behind these despicable acts still exist in the hearts and minds of many in Cayman to this day.)
As opposed to you becoming Caymanised you mean? Cause you are not a multi generational Caymanian, are you?
If law firms can mislead immigration, why can’t phone companies?
LIME, FLOW, C&W or whatever flavour of the alphabet they are now choosing to masquerade as a telecoms company are in utter freefall.
I have been a customer since 1998 but I cannot hold on much longer.
After the monopoly broke, they did really well for a time and then they got rid of some great technicians and middle management.
Well done ICTA, the leader makes us proud!!!
Bravo ICTA! It’s time that C&W/LIME/FLOW has some action taken against it! I wish ICTA had jurisdiction over the poor standard of customer service it passes off on it’s customers!!
Here…Here to that 6:17! FLOW’s Customer Service is the worst. It’s Customer UnService as far as I am concerned. Worst bunch of jokers I have ever had the displeasure to deal with. Switching to C3……….
FLOW. Formerly. Lime. Only. Worse.
This is quite common. I work in the financial services industry and there’s loads of expats that have been hired with the work permit and the individuals job title not correlating. Or if hired as an assistant is receiving the salary of a manager.
…not to mention low basic salary advertised but high discretionary (and fairly secret) bonuses, and so on. Yes there are various dodges used freely, but they could be clamped down on if anyone cared to make the changes needed.
The work permit situation is what it is because it allows individuals to influence decisions too much. In turn that means favours can be done, e.g. to get a specific permit approved (but the reverse has happened too). This of course places significant power in the hands of those within the system – Board members in particular. Why do you think they offer their time so readily for such a boring, time consuming task? Cayman has always run things this way, without transparency, and with fairness only when it suits.
The work permit system here cries out for a comprehensive overhaul and replacement by a competent, mostly tick-box system which excludes any subjective decisions by individuals except in extreme circumstances, where a properly manned tribunal outside of the Board should decide. I believe it is possible to design such a system, but it would take time and money. And let’s face it, no-one in Government would bother with it anyway, right?
So is anybody in immigration doing their jobs? Or is it just pick and choose who they don’t like, to figure out who they going to harass today? I tell you, this place is like living in an upside-down world, man.
A sad state of affairs for a once brilliant company (of course that’s when they were the only players in town, literally).
Now that the cash cow left the barn on January 2004 (with the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector), C&W cooperate’s monster is now showing its true face. Take a look folks, here lies the lie. Good job on bringing this to light, ICTA and other involved parties.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this:
If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.
We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” – Carl Sagan
It’s a bad law that is poorly enforced and creates nonsensical situations. Do you think C&W are the only ones who find workarounds? If you want more Caymanian employees in senior positions make them compete fairly for the more junior positions and make it possible to fire the non-performers. That will allow the best of them to rise to the top. Right now employers take on Caymanians because they have to, and those Caymanians feel no pressure to perform because of their protected status.
I beg to differ with you. Caymanians are overlooked for positions because in many cases, someone knows someone and the work permit system is so easily manipulated, employers can invite “friends & family” to work in paradise.
Yes, there are some instances of Caymanians underperforming but that can be said about anyone. It is a non sense to pretend Caymanians have the exclusive on this. The only difference is, many Caymanians feel marginalized on the job (which is sometimes deliberately geared to force them out ) & lack the motivation to perform whilst their foreign brethren get the protection of the big boss whilst doing the same thing. That, my friend is a very real picture of why the work permit system is abused. It’s all about who you know.
The expats have bid their time in their own countries. They started at the bottom. None of them were given senior positions with bonuses, company cars and company cell phones on their first jobs. Caymanians need to start at the bottom. There is nothing wrong with starting to work as a cashier at Fosters when you are in high school. It teaches you to show up for work every day and on time. And you can’t be on your phone while you are at work. Unless Cayman is ready to get rid of the expats that are willing to work in these entry level positions and have Caymanians start with those jobs, the country will never have the power (nor work ethic and education/experience) to take the top jobs.
I think we all know Immigration abuses are pervasive in this country and it is about time they are called out. Well done ICTA for doing your job and apparently, that of the Home Affairs Ministry as well. Caymanian workers have suffered enough from these abuses. Now we can only hope the penalties are serious enough to deter/eliminate the abuses which we know have been going on for decades.
Up until this point, only the Caymanians who have been denied work opportunities by these unscrupulous employers have been the ones made to pay. It’s about time someone else gets to feel what that is like. Hit ’em hard, I say.
Somebody at C+W pissed someone off. The witch hunt is on! ICTA overstepping its authority? Hell yes! If they have concerns they should turn it over to immigration and let them investigate, and certainly not comment before immigration has ruled. Compensation cases soon come.
Maybe you should read the ICTA Law to appreciate the powers of the Authority… That aside, if a regulatory entity considered that one of its licensees is breaking the law should it sit back and allow it to continue in hopes that another slow to act authority will address it… I wonder where you work and what your immigration status is.
Why would you wonder about that? Must be a sad and sorry life you lead. Now go do something meaningful, there’s a good boy. Like get a job or look after your family.
Just hope that this is not seen as a former disenfranchised employee “getting back” at his old employer.
You are being politically correct, but still saying it like it is, thank you 10.08.
Cayman is a joke. It’s immigration system is in tatters. With sec and other options not to mention Singapore rolling out the red carpet for investors and workers Cayman and missed the boat. With the beneficial ownership and secrecy laws going away, I predict a slow exodus of money and human capital. Nothing to keep people here. In Singapore I can operate my business in a world class city, with culture, concerts, casinos, and beaches.
That’s so very nice to hear but why haven’t you already left, island jerk? If you have to comment on here about leaving, you clearly lack the wherewithal to leave. Thank you for your post anyway and good luck planning your trip. See ya!
Beaches? really? You idiot, clearly you haven’t been to the beach in Singapore. You cannot swim in the sea because of all of the petroleum based pollution from the refineries and ships, if you are foolish enough to go in prepare to have a nice greasy, oily film covering your hair and body. Enjoy.
Island Honkey I regret to say that you are correct. We are on our way to killing the financial services golden goose. CIG needs to wake up before it is too late.
Good far and stay a longtime driftwood.
Are you there yet?