Hotel construction site under investigation by WORC
(CNS): Following what is understood to be the robbery of cash to pay workers at a hotel construction site on the West Bay Road on Monday and the subsequent protest by workers on the site on Tuesday, officials have confirmed that the site is now part of a WORC and labour department investigation. CNS understands that the men were paid around 70% of their wages late Tuesday and were back at work Wednesday, but the situation at the site is far from resolved.
Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC) said that investigations are ongoing at the site resulting from allegations that employees and employers were working outside of the terms and conditions of their work permits.
“This matter will be given the highest priority as WORC’s Compliance & Enforcement Officers continue with investigations,” a spokesperson for WORC stated in a brief response to our inquiries.
The Department of Labour and Pensions said it was aware of workers’ concerns at the same site and confirmed that it was also conducting investigations resulting from spot checks initiated by DLP last month.
The DLP, which assists in matters relating to the Labour Act and the National Pensions Act, said people should visit the office on the second floor of Midtown Plaza to get help relating to their benefits or to make a complaint.
People can also call the confidential hotline (345) 945 3073, email DLP@gov.ky or visit the DLP websiste.
Anonymous complaints can be made here or email worccomplaints@gov.ky
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Category: Crime, Immigration
KFC making a killing off this site.
The ongoing blatant exploitation of workers for a Hyatt brand seems not ideal for the “5 star” imaging propaganda.
No one should be shocked that workers were being exploited when construction was 7 days a week and into the nights.
WORC is so reactive. Just start a simple and random “stop in invetsigations” at every Job Site and it will lesson this issue.
Good spelling 😎
wireguard that 30% ⛓️
kmock knock! gotta pay CAESARS TAXES! LOL
Worc and anti corruption need to find out who doing the Kitchens for Over 60 units of this project then find out which politicians gave the concessions to this project ooh ooh spaghettiOs
This is more of allowing the developer to bring in foreign companies (French GC). LG is just acting as the front just like they do on the Dart jobs. The new Dart building is now bringing in roofers from Dominican Republic, wall finishers from Canada. Then they just get labor brokers to supply cheap labor and circumvent all the labor laws, pension, health insurance etc. Why is this being allowed?We have companies here already so why do they need to go to these other countries? Because it is cheaper for them to load their pockets with more cash. Labor minister Seymour, shut all this down now!
Those who benefit from it will never shut it down!
What new Dart building?
90 Nexus?
Thats the only large project that Dart is building right now.
Roofers? They have 6 stories to go first.
Wall finishers? Do you mean drywall or eifs? The exterior contract went to a reputable Caymanian company and the interior commencement is about a year away.
Get your facts straight before making stupid comments
Thank you Dart employee for that most important update!
You must mean the reputable local front company. Why did that contract get awarded so early but the roof will wait till the end? Your comments do not add up except for the cover up. Must have a guilty conscious.
the persons comment is correct so the only person making stupid comment is you. you do know they award contracts way in advance of the actual works commencing right?
You’ve just made that up.
Probably the same bunch you see in the pictures now, as long as it is cheap the two general contractors love it. When we went their to see about the exterior works, was told it was all settled long ago, that is LG for you.
There’s obviously someone high up protecting Fred for him to duck government investigation.
WORC should have done this from the off then we wouldn’t have to do it now. Reaction island 🤣
Don’t worry – as soon as the media attention dies down the investigation will quietly fade away. Only way this is going to have a positive result is if progress on the investigations is kept in the public eye. Sandy seems to have a knife sharpened for Fred, so maybe…..
Good thing she does and brought this to the forefront.
QUESTION for CNS commenters: I havent been out there in well over a year, but has the Mandarin in the Beach Bay area started construction? I see sales adds but wonder if this ever got off the ground at all.
Just curious. Thanks!
LOOOLLLLLL. You thought that was a real project. Put it on the pile with Ironwood.
At least this development is progressing. I notice that the cranes are no longer up at the Kailani development across from Kirks, and havent seen workers there in a few months.
Another NCB “quality” project with phenomenal returns. 😂
That’s because NCB are a shambles and about to go pop.
Hope NCB don’t go Pop.. Apart from Kilani, there’s a whole heap of long delayed still unfinished work at the Dart townhouses project.
Dart is strong enough to finish them, but NCB will be dragged through the mud in the process.
LG is the greatest builder in Cayman, we make $25.00 per hour. He is a great and wonderful man.
Were those opportunities advertised for Caymanian Labour? I don’t recall seeing that advertised anywhere.
No diggidy, no doubt.
Unfortunately, until the banks allow low-paid workers to open bank accounts without charging them for fees; people will have to be paid in cash.
If there was a way that the businesses could get a debit card for everyone who works for them and automatically transfer the funds into their account, that would be much better and avoid the cash situation completely.
For-profit banks have no incentive to take on these accounts. Any of these relatively small non-cash deposits would be withdrawn and/or transferred out for payments or foreign transfers. So not a lot of cash would remain in the account for the bank to do much with it.
The initial and ongoing administration costs to the bank would exceed any income to be earned.
What administration costs?
Once you’ve got your on-line banking set up, maintaining it for 100 or 1,000 customers seems like almost the same amount of work to me.
Annual compliance costs – the sheer amount of paperwork CIMA now requires.
They have every incentive: These accounts would be dinged .10 for every transaction, or sometimes .20 cents, just like the rest of us.
And a monthly fee!
Plus monthly “maintenance” fees plus …
Not just the fees, but cash is THE BEST way to pay for workers outside of their permit.
Why not just pay them in bitcoin then?
Make believe money same as not getting paid in real money
Why the heck is such a large development paying foreign construction workers in cash? Oh that’s right, so there is no paper trail. Got it.
No. Almost all of the workers have no Cayman bank accounts.
Utter crap, if they are legal employed and get their job letters, they can open a bank account. Our employees do it all the time. You just want to have no proof of employment as paying with a check would show that you have employed a person you do not have a work permit for. Stop the cover up.
The employee also has to show their work permit letter to open an account, so what is the big problem? Seems to be more smoke and mirrors. Bet the French company had no problems opening any bank accounts.
It’s actually because banks won’t allow you to cash a cheque without having an account at the institution. It’s the banks fault. Their way of getting the queues of BO smelling construction workers out of the banks on pay day. Racist move from the banks IMO.
Exist – and calling them BO smelling construction workers is perfectly fine 😂
They put on a lot of cheap cologne!
At the Cabinet meeting on 7th Nov 2024, Cayman Islands Cabinet approved “for the continuation of the previously agreed
waiver of import duties to Pageant Beach Hotel Ltd”. See the following link: https://www.gov.ky/publication-detail/cabinet-post-meeting-summary-7-november-2024.
For the terms and conditions of this waiver see this link: https://cnslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/Concessions-to-Pageant-Beach-Hotel.pdf.
Makes for interesting reading, especially the condition that requires monthly statements to WORC and the Dept of Labor & Pensions!!!!!
An FOI request for a) confirmation that the reports had been submitted and b) a copy of them would be entertaining.
Why on earth are payments at a large job site made in cash? Just asking for trouble.
No paper trail or proof of payment so they can deny that anyone ever worked for them if investigated
No correct. Most of the workers are unbanked.
Because it is so impossible to open a bank account in Cayman so these workers do not have any place to cash a pay check
Also there is no legal requirement to pay in check, direct deposit or cash. Thus the employer can opt to pay in any form. Having said this, having that amount of cash leaves open a can of issues.
yawn…storm in teacup….much more serious thing happening in cayman
Who wants to visit a hotel that’s going to smell like the dump most of the year anyway?
I’m going to go out on a limb guess what’s happening here. The big contractor is paying the subcontractors exactly what they’re meant to be paid.
The subcontractors are mismanaging their cash and to compensate they are not paying their staff. When the staff ask why they haven’t been paid, the subcontractors tell them the lie that they haven’t been paid by the big contractor.
So the employees go to the labor board and complain the big contractor isn’t paying its bills.
I can virtually guarantee (because I’ve been there and got the t shirt) the big guy is paying his bills. And all these little backwards ass subcontractors are pissing away their cash on everything but their staff.
Let’s see when the smoke clears.
Preach brother! 100% correct.
Wait until this happens the week before xmas
It’s called Christmas you heathen
Find the two Caymanians in the picture above. You have to look carefully; they are the two guys without hardhats wearing ties and a suitcoat. This is much of what is wrong with Cayman; most of those people should be Caymanians. We once knew how to build things using our own people.
We still know how to do it, we just won’t do it for “take it or leave it”, underpaid-under-the-table slave drivers like Fred and many others (“Caymanian” or otherwise.)
Problem here is not all Fred but it goes to the top between LG and his French partner. They instructed Fred on what to do and now pretend they do not know anything about it? This LG is always pulling fast ones to cut corners, investigate how many people have gotten hurt seriously on the various sites over the years. Go check out his 1 Georgetown Hotel project and the new Dart building, you will find loads of buy a work permit people working on those jobs as well. This is the new order of construction in Cayman.
“DLP said people should visit the office”.
Open between 9 and 4 on weekdays, but closed when there is a staff function, staff training, staff party, retirement function plus the days before Christmas, two days before and after a Tropical Storm and one week before and after a hurricane (warning).
So if you have a normal job, you’ll be hard-pressed to visit.
Of course you can write an e-mail, which will be “diligently investigated” but then gets ignored.
Might as well save your time & effort and not bother.
Good thing they are keeping their investigation a secret. People who are working outside of their permit will continue to show up so they can be properly fined/arrested/repatriated during this week’s surprise raid.
Perhaps we should focus a bit more on the CRIME of robbery and shooting. Oooops I am an electrician and put up some drywall, please don’t arrest me.
Who is the developer again?
Say what you will but this fishy 3rd world labor treatment doesn’t happen with Dart’s exquisite construction and development.
Blah blah blah you’re so unhappy with Dart but Camana Bay, Kimpton Seafire, Dart highway and overpass etc are all excellent.
Makes you wonder if you had this fishy labor WORC investigation being the norm on island where Cayman would be without Dart.
Just hope that Dart makes the right move on Cayman heritage site of Royal Palms 🫶🏿 the heart of Seven Mile Beach.
Get off your high horse Dart lover, LG is a Dart man as well and runs all the jobs the same. This is the way it operates here in Cayman, Dart has had to pay off for some of their cheap sub contractors as well. Now go back and report that to your master.
You all whine on here about Dart, but the truth is you’ll do nothing. Complain and moan that’s the limit of it. You can’t organise or build any sort of momentum because the vast majority of people see the benefit of development.
lmao eat shit dartbot
How quickly you forget the Indian workers housed in containers at Camana Bay, which provided the format for foreign worker exploitation.
good luck with that
While I am completely against anybody not getting compensated for their work, the pencil pushers at government have never worked a jobsite to understand that occasionally everybody works “outside of the terms and conditions of their work permits” otherwise things don’t get done. There are jobs that fall between the cracks of different trades and people have to pick the slack up in these areas. Building a building isn’t as Black and White as sitting behind a desk with absolute set duties.
the pencil pushers at government have never worked a jobsite to understand that occasionally everybody works “outside of the terms and conditions of their work permits” otherwise things don’t get done.
True, but when you apply for a work permit for a Jamaican gardener to attend your plantation in East End and he is working a construction site in George Town with someone else, you have to wonder why permits have terms and conditions.
Worc simply doesn’t have the capacity to even address the complexity of this situation let alone investigate it therefore the outcome I predict will be very favorable to developers . Some are already being scapegoated here right before our own eyes.
Worc needs to find which 2 dummies in Labour and pensions proposed this waiver bullshit which is not in the law?
Look at labor law, section 26- this is clearly ok by law.
How can this consortium of LC and the foreign company be hiring all these people working outside their work permits? LG as a local company knows the law and these other people must have local lawyers who advise them, so why all the problems? Seems it was all intentional to circumvent the law.
shut it down!
Oh my God! There is gambling in the casino!!!!
This #shitshow and hundreds of others have been going on for decades. In full view. With no effective action.
It is sickening.
Someone get robbed at gun point. Let’s blame him and then question why workers can’t get paid within 5 minutes?
Terrible situation but let’s try and be supportive and not attack everyone involved.
these infractions are always rampant on job sites, this is othing new, it’s only because the news outlet have shined a light on this site why these clowns are now acting. lazy and incompetent the whole lot.