WORC struggles as transition rolls on
(CNS): Workforce Opportunity and Residency Cayman (WORC), the new government agency that now deals with the employment side of immigration, is facing significant problems as the staff transitions into the new unit. Training on the new system is causing delays, with customers now queuing in tents outside the building as WORC officers struggle to keep up with the workload while also learning the new system.
After seating inside the building reached capacity, officials erected a small marquee with seating underneath to accommodate the overflow of customers.
Officials said Tuesday that WORC “wants to thank the public for their patience and reminds customers they may expect service delays as the front counter staff continues to be trained on the new system coming soon”.
Apologising for the delays, officials said that WORC is now open from 7:30am and offers extended closing hours every Wednesday until 7:00pm.
The new Customs and Border Control Agency, which absorbed the enforcement and border control aspect of the old immigration department, has been fully operational since the beginning of the year, but the transition does not appear to be going quite as smoothly for WORC. Government still needs to bring changes to the immigration law, and the system to transform the management of both local and expatriate labour is not yet functioning.
However, speaking at the Chamber’s Economic Forum in June, WORC Director Sharon Roulstone was confident that once it was up and running, the new system would be a huge improvement, cutting the permit application time to as little as two weeks and eliminating much of the previous bureaucracy. But Roulstone said it was a “monumental” undertaking to transform the system, which is expected to be fully operational next month.
The development of the technology has been the main issue and the cause of delays. The staff now needs to be trained to use the new system, which will require every single job vacancy in Cayman to go through the new job portal if a work permit is required.
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Category: Government Administration, Jobs, Local News, Politics
If we didn’t have a non functioning airline, people wouldn’t have to literally wait outside on the street at a government building. What other country does that? Dump CAL
What the hell does Cayman Airways have to do with this?
It is almost like the splitting of the previous Immigration department was rushed and poorly thought out….almost.
I think they misunderstood the meaning of “customer CARE”
Maybe the problem is with the ones that are heading up WORC – they probably don’t know what they are doing, but have to place the blame on something.
It’s amazing how CBC got their department up and running right away – because they had people heading it up, that knew what they were doing.
I do know that they have 2 good deputy heads but their hands are tied. Should soon untie.
Hands are tied? Is that what you call it nowadays. They have all been silently doing nothing. They haven’t even made rounds to the public. They sit in their ivory towers and collect the big bucks while their subordinates struggle like fish out of water. Gimme a break… you must be their family or friend.
The whole thing is a scam doomed to fail for a simple reason. No one will stand up to the Minister responsible. His ideas are unchecked by the cadre of “yes men” around him. What he says goes, even if it is unworkable, or worse.
CBC was a merger of two existing departments. WORC is an organisation being built from the ground up while managing two existing departments that will shut down when WORC is fully operational. The difference in the tasks is measurable. Try to be fair not fake.
There is 1 head of WORC.
How many deputies does the leader have?
C B C, no more Immigration ? Why couldn’t it have been I C C, or C I C or I C E or even I C B C ?
They’ve enforced expatriate entitlement and made it easier and faster for employers to circumvent the laws and regulations…good WORC.
I would disagree to an extent. I have heard a few of the “entitled” Caymanian employers complaining about temporary work permits being refused recently because the department is forcing them to hire locally or stop using temporary permits to avoid advertising and fees. There are some really genuine people that work at WORC. They just need leadership.
Maybe but are non-Caymanian employers still getting permits pretty much if they just pay a fee? Caymanians are known to be hardest on other Caymanians.
Not completely unpredictable when a CFO starts running a ministry.
What a rediculous name for a government agency? Worc?
Only in Cayman ….
What a ridiculous way to spell “ridiculous”, only in Cayman.
lol… and I think in western countries, you should reflect proper grammatical rules. Comma should always go inside the quotation marks: “ridiculous,”
CNS: Wrong. This is one of the differences between American and British grammar rules. Under the latter, when you quote part of a sentence, a single word or phrase, the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks. Your example is “ridiculous”.
hahaha, I love snarky CNS
Thank you CNS, I always put the comma outside.
Shouldn’t be a comma there at all. Semi-colon or hyphen.
Another ill conceived child of CIG.
I actually think it’s a good idea on paper, but implementation in a civil service and government entrenched in an antiquated mindset will be problematic, to put it mildly.
There are some very talented folks in WORCS, let them run the show.
Name three 11:01….and be prepared for contradiction.
They certainly appointed enough “chiefs” i.e. directors, deputy directors, managers etc., etc., but obviously not enough “Indians”. Typical civil service modus operandi.
And some of those deputies are absolutely wutless!
WORC became a dumping ground for many useless senior public sector “throw aways” that spend their time undermining the leader.
Sharon you never had a chance!
Spot on 3:43!
More to come
Thanks Alden. Your arrogance is starving your people.
But Aldart and bff Big Mac are doing just fine…bow down to the BMOC…Big Men of Cayman
It is my understanding that WORC and CBC are operating out of this building. CNS, have you confirmed that the customers were in fact WORC customers?
CNS: According to WORC, yes.
They delayed the merge and they still didn’t have enough time to train these people beforehand
Its a mystery how anyone can trust this government to get anything right
Just a long trail of failures as far as the eye can see
How is OffReg doing?
Exactly!
OffReg are still hard at work bitch-slapping and knifing each other while drawing in their huge salaries.