Commission planned to prevent local discrimination
Premier Alden McLaughlin in the Legislative Assembly, 15 March 2018
(CNS): The country’s leader has announced the creation of a Fair Employment Opportunities Commission aimed at specifically addressing complaints about discrimination against Caymanian job seekers or those applying for promotion. In a statement to the Legislative Assembly Thursday, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Caymanians needed an avenue for complaints about hiring practices and he intended to establish the Cayman Islands’ first such commission to fill the vacuum in the current system when it came to this specific and worrying complaint that was creating increasing resentment among the local workforce.
The premier pointed out that under the current system, employers and immigrants have access to an Immigration Appeals Tribunal if they believe that a work permit or permanent residency application has been incorrectly refused; people in work can complain about rogue bosses to the Labour Appeals Tribunal, but Caymanian job seekers who believe they have been unfairly treated when applying for a job or bypassed for a promotion have nowhere to go.
He added that Caymanians look to the Immigration Law for protection against discrimination but it doesn’t address discrimination against them and there is no official process for handling complaints of discrimination from job-seekers or those seeking promotion. He pointed out that people can write to the immigration boards, and while that may stall or stop a work permit, it rarely results in the local job-seeker getting the post they applied for.
“The Fair Employment Opportunities Commission, which we propose, with its legislated framework would fill a gap that now exists,” McLaughlin said.
He said it wasn’t just the Immigration Law that was inadequate; the Labour Law only covers those with a job and it does not significantly enhance protection against workplace discrimination for Caymanians; and the Bill of Rights can only be applied vertically, between the public and government, which the premier said left no legislation to protect Caymanians from this type of discrimination and no route for redress.
“The Fair Employment Opportunities Commission would supplement other tools for ensuring the hiring of Caymanians while also providing Caymanians with the assurance that government and law-abiding employers do care about Caymanian employment,” he said.
“The commission will be independent to avoid possible perceptions of bias toward business and must be able to maintain a balance and to apply the relevant aspects of the law. As such, it would be headed by a commissioner appointed by the governor in a manner similar to the appointment of the auditor general and ombudsman. It is envisaged that the commissioner would be an experienced attorney or retired judge and the office would be staffed by individuals with legal and investigative skills.”
McLaughlin said it would not be a form of affirmative action but a body to consider the law and determine whether the complaint of unfair treatment was valid, and it will then have the power to apply sanctions.
“It will be important that the business community and public do not believe that this body is subject to political interference but instead operates independently and in accordance with the rule of law,” he stressed.
The commission will also provide other benefits, he said, such as collecting data that government and the public can use to understand the extent of the problem, the effectiveness of existing legislative and enforcement efforts or the impact of new measures to reduce discrimination. This information over time would also indicate which parts of the job market are impacted by incidents of real or perceived discrimination. It could also help promote and protect employment rights for local workers.
McLaughlin said the idea was not novel as several countries have an equal employment opportunity commission, but before the necessary laws to pave the way for this to be implemented there would be extensive consultation with the business community.
“This government recognises the importance of businesses having access to quality, necessary personnel but we also recognise that we need to do something new to ensure that Caymanians not only believe that they will be treated fairly in the job market but where they do not so believe, that they have an avenue to take their grievances,” McLaughlin said. “If we do nothing and allow the current beliefs of unfairness to fester and grow, we may well end up where the Bahamas was in the 1970s with an unsettled business climate and great resentment amongst local people and with business leaving our shores.”
The premier added that if a business is operating as the law requires and is treating Caymanian job applicants fairly, they will have nothing to fear regarding the implementation of such a commission.
Although work is underway on the development of a Human Resources Department to better regulate the labour market, including access to work permits, changes to the laws regarding the advertising of jobs as well as creating a National Jobs Clearinghouse to improve transparency, the premier told his colleagues that this would not be enough, given the constant stories of discrimination.
He said that tweaking the Immigration Law and Regulations had not solved the problem because “complaints of discrimination against Caymanians… remain widespread” and resentment was growing. “To date no amount of change to the Immigration Law has alleviated the concerns,” he stated.
“The stories about Caymanians being treated unfairly in the labour market are legion,” the premier said. “Personally, hardly a day passes that I do not hear an anecdote of a Caymanian being discriminated against or treated unfairly with respect to employment. By being treated unfairly I am talking about qualified Caymanians who are able to do a particular job being unjustifiably refused an opportunity to work or being passed over for a training opportunity or promotion. Indeed, at times they may not even have received an opportunity for an interview for a job.”
Pointing to the commission as a new solution to the challenge, he added, “In some cases we know the stories first hand, either through constituents, family or friends and so know them to be true.”
Category: Jobs, Local News, Politics, Private Sector Oversight
“In some cases we know the stories first hand, either through constituents, family or friends and so know them to be true.”
Hardly first hand. Hearsay. This coming from a lawyer? What a crock of shit Alden!
After David Legge’s editorial outburst about the recent decision of the Civil Service Appeals Commission to uphold the appeal of a qualified Caymanian not appointed to a job in the Ministry of Education by a Caymanian Chief Officer, a non appointment that was supported by a Caymanian Deputy Governor, when he, Legge, got all sorts of facts wrong, but of course was pushing the usual line of market forces/no protection for Caymanians, I can’t wait to see what he has to say about this new body to protect the rights of Caymanians to be employed. I would guess we will see an editorial about it around Wednesday.
Everyone check the headlines in the Cayman Compass about finding “a caymanian fire chief”. No Caymanian could score high enough lol lol lmao lmao ….Alden does this state it all?????
this probably wont apply in the Civil Service they will till appoint ex pats and Appeals commission will have no purpose!
I was initially encouraged by the headline – mistakenly assuming that it had something to do with acceptance and tolerance; maybe *dare to dream* an initiative to work to equalize gender pay, or rampant same-sex discrimination…not even close!!
If this commission goes ahead, we must force an equivalent headcount reduction in Immigration and Work Permit Staffing Boards – already tasked with these responsibilities!! We already pay full time salaried positions tasked with exactly this!!
I was born in West Bay in the year 225 B.C., and I demand the right to be the next Premier.
YET ANOTHER COMMISSION / COMMITTEE to do exactly what the Immigration as well as Labour Departments are meant to do. More rent, furniture, overheads, and oh, jobs for the boys! When does this ever change in politics, anywhere in the world? Where does this all lead? Absolutely nowhere, except to a continuous drain on the taxpayers contributions, and nothing improved at all. When will politicians ever learn that forming more committees and commissions IS NOT GOVERNANCE but BS.
Great idea, the locals really should stop discriminating.
Yeah, just like the locals do in your country.
Genau.
– Who
Chagos.
-Dat
******
Holocaust.
South African white farmland grab.
America opioid crisis.
– Is
*
If it was not for the foreign worker and investor Cayman would be in very bad shape. Praise to the Premier for this new commission that will help the Cayman people to sort thru things.
Thank you oh great white savior. Where would we be without your sense of superiority?
Commissions, is the political word for socialism . Which Politician put the most commissions in place ?
Do you even understand the concept of socialism, clearly not
Socialism is the seizure of the means of production of the state by the workers, (the proletariat). Leading to the dissolution of the state and the creation of a classless society where the workers all benefit from the overall production
The government currently in power creating another commission to oversee a system is not “socialism” it is just about as far away from socialism as one can get
Viva the Seven Mile Popular Front!
Don’t think you quite have that right 7.14pm. Socialism is in reality the systematic and equal distribution of poverty!! Like Michael Manley many years ago in Jamaica. They still have not recovered from that little meringue with Fidel Castro.
We never get transparency from Govt – it should be called the Caymanian Entitlement Commission.
Drive by Bodden Town Beach (at anytime of day) and what do you see grown ass men sitting under the cabanas, drinking and doing not a damn thing. Drive by the bar on your way to North Side (on Frank Sound Road), disgusting lookin individual sitting under trees with couches and recliners all set up. This is what you want us to hire? Men coming in to the NWDA to file for a job, in pants dragging down off their asses, T-Shirts and their hair in corn rows. Who the hell is going to hire someone like this? Than you have the young girls coming for a job, baby daddy drops the off, looks like a thug himself and she goes, I can’t work till 10am because I don’t have a lift to work, or they just show up late for their interview. Come on Alden, this has been going on from time itself and you now are going to ram this down our throats. Dart hires mostly foreigners. Tell him to hire Caymanians. BAH HA HA HA
Your racist beliefs are shining through!
Facts hurt.
I see nothing but over-complicated, long-winded versions of;
“I simply don’t like or respect Caymanians in general.”
Nevertheless, the collective objective of these particular posts are to somehow demonstrate the announced push against discrimination against locals is unnecessary.
You really couldn’t make this sh*t up.
– Who
(smh)
(Heh, heh)
Not a peep (but voting their lil fing-fings off).
Expected as much.
The jig is up folks.
If there is such a big problem why is the gardening at the Government Building done by expats? Why are the security personnel (guards?) at the Post Office, Port, the Dump etc. work permit holders?
Cause Caymanians can’t do the job 5:25pm
Or Caymanian s don’t WANT to do the job.
Caymanians are not stupid enough to do those security jobs for $5.00 per hour! Take a look at who does those jobs, and how they survive, and tell me if you know of any Caymanian who is willing to live like that in their own country! I will not hold my breath. That is why a carefully thought out minimum wage policy and law is required to ensure that jobs offered will attract Caymanians, as well as give them a living wage and a chance for a decent standard of living. The problem is that too many Caymanian businesses thrive on the cheap foreign labour, and they therefore do not care a fig about Caymanians being employed as long as they can get fat off the cheap labour. If you solve the minimum wage problem, you will be on the road to justice for Caymanians in the labour market. Cayman Govt. you need to stop sitting on the fence on this issue. Whose side are you on, the fat cats, or your own Caymanian people?
19/03/2018 6:46pm, its $6.00 per hour and isn’t it better to be working until you can find something than sitting on your ass doing nothing???
5:25pm how about Planning, Garbage Collectors, Police, Fireman. Work Permit Holders. More Work Permit Holders for Police. Alden needs to get his head out of the sand and realize CAYMANIANS CANNOT BE FOUND TO DO THE JOB!!!
Because they can’t find Caymanians. Is anyone even claiming that they were discriminated against for those jobs?
And therein lies the problem. Caymanians see “discrimination” everywhere they look. Perhaps the first job of this commission should be to educate local people as to what discrimination means.
This from someone who probably has never faced discrimination his/herself. Quite typical for the privileged to make tone-deaf statements like “What are they complaining about?”.
*slaps forehead* Actually the comment was not about the validity of any complaint but the EXISTENCE of it!
It is one thing to feel a victim of discrimination yourself, it is quite another to assume discrimination is taking place when nobody is even claiming THEY have been discriminated against.
It is not discrimination against Caymanians to hire an expat when no Caymanians have applied.
*shakes head* Give me a break. That would be true, had the job been advertised, applications collected and scrutinized, interviews conducted and finalists decided upon. But that is not what happens, particularly in the financial industry. I’ve seen numerous instances where a position becomes available under Senior Manager X, and Senior Manager X will say “Hey, I know somebody”. A former colleague or golfing buddy or someone in his/her circle of friends will be approached, offered the post, vetted and given a tentative “You’re hired, oh once we’ve advertise for a suitably qualified Caymanian”. The least amount of acceptable advertising will be done, and any CVs from Caymanians will be scoured for reasons that they are not “suitably qualified”. Not enough experience, or not enough qualifications. I’ve been in the room when the CVs get scrutinized, so I know what I’m talking about. An expat with the same CV as a Caymanian will get “Oh, she might not be qualified, but she has a lot of experience” while the Caymanian gets “Oh, that’s a shame he doesn’t have his qualification with all the experience he has”. So spare me please. The discrimination is rampant and everyone knows it.
I know a guy on a work permit that went from CFO of one firm, to Financial Controller of another, to COO of a third, all in the space of a year. Both positions were advertised AFTER they were filled.
Corruption, nepotism or incompetence, or the government believes there is not a single Caymanian capable and willing to be a security guard in place of any of the expatriates filling those positions.
It seems it can only be one of those.
Which is it?
EXACTLY
Can expats apply for these positions?
There is a strange ‘black hole’ or ‘cayman triangle’ effect that permeates this island. Laws cannot be enforced. We complain about the ones that annoy us but praise the lord for the money we garner.
This country does not follow the philosophy of rule of law. Instead it is selective based upon advantage, origin and relationship.
No, it’s beyond that. The enforcement just isn’t there.
Why are they seeking to consult the business community, the very ones that side-step or ignore the existing laws and regulations?
Caymanians should get their British passports and slip over to France asap. The 35 hr workwek, holidays, benefits and impossibility of being fired are perfect. .
I love the use of the word Fair when the immigration and work permit laws are designed to give preference to Caymanians, and the chutzpah in saying that its not affirmative action when it manifestly is. Don’t get me wrong, no issue with laws saying that locals should have priority – just hate the hypocrisy. Would be a lot more honest using the old Caymanian Protection Board title.
Locals and citizens must be protected under the laws of that country. This is a common concept or policy in many first world citizens and not a unique principle to the Cayman Islands.
Look at the world news geo politics and try to understand the laws and policies of countries like USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries commonly protect and promote the interests of their citizens.
The generalized comments and lack of respect for most Caymanians in most quarters is common place and staggering yet the irony is lost on those who spout negativity against Caymanians. If life in Cayman is so bad and most locals are insufferable why is it that many who come to these shores never want to leave? Cayman is a land of great opportunities for many on Work Permits who aspire to get Permanent Residency and Caymanian Status. Therefore, remember that before you spread bigoted views against the people you found in this land.
History has illustrated that the “Colonizers” were not saviors back then nor saviors to the Cayman Islands now. “Respect begets respect” perhaps it would serve this country well and it’s many sorjouners who seek to one day call this country their home to live by that premise.
Commission–.A proper tribunal with litigation in it funded out of the work permit fees. And the redress it it -unlimited. It should be the worst crime to discriminate against a Caymanian
Have lawyers for days and miles scrunitizing every application and looking for every cause of action.
Just as the employers are legally advised so should Caymanians be legally represented.
Sounds like a great place to start a business! The question you might ask yourself is why Caymanian business owners would rather pay work permit fees rather than employ fellow Caymanians.
Because they are domestic Cayman companies we want a share of that international business not to fight amongst ou5 cousins over a small services sector..can only open so many hair salons….now let’s talk about them offshore businesses that are legally advised…for days and miles…with tools like the Business Staffing plan..we nahfool yah know and we not trying to compete with out daddy or uncle…that would be foolish…try another one…
Sounds like a good place for justice and enforcement would happen. Employees would be empowered and honest employees would be vindicated.
AS the businessman is typically so quick to say…welcome to the real world!
The whacky private sector causing more problems again.
There is truth on both sides of the argument. Do I believe that there are certain employers who discriminate against Caymanians? Yes I do, I met one or two of them and they are a disgrace to the vast majority of law abiding expats. Likewise I am aware of companies being virtually told to employ Caymanians who on the face of it have all the right qualifications, however when you check with previous employers (by that I mean not discriminating employers), you find they have a list of the complaints against them such as not doing what is required, using “being a Caymanian” as an excuse not to do so, attitude issues, endless sick days, excuses and all the other things you frequently read on here. At the end of the day, employers will not be told who to employ. They are there to make money and anyone not contributing to that aim is fair game. Do they have to give Caymanians a fair crack? Damn right they do. However the focus of this commission would be better served in discussing and fixing the education and attitude issues that come out of a broken system, as well as cracking down on the blatant employer abusers. This commission, in the form proposed, runs the danger of adding to and protecting the “entitlement” attitudes that many complain of. Ultimately that is another false protection which could bring Cayman down. Whilst social protection is needed of all employees, protectionist measures rarely work long term. All workers have to know what is expected of them and perform, or be sacked without fear of retribution if they are sacked for the right reasons. If they are protected, they have little incentive to perform or learn.
Jesus Christ, you can’t win, can you?
You can, but it takes free market forces for people to understand what’s needed, not molly coddling with a silver spoon in your mouth. You never learn anything that way…Something proved by the late Margaret Thatcher when the UK was renowned as the laziest most inefficient nation in Europe in the 60’s and 70’s, she cut away the bureaucracy and unaffordable subsidies until people learnt to stand on their own two feet.
No many other countries in the world have open borders. The vast majority of governments have policies in place to provide some protection to their citizens.
Name a single country that has open borders to all nationalities.
Whodatisistan.
It is not a good idea to use the name of the Son of The Living God as a throwaway expression. It’s easily done since we are conditioned by society to accept it, but on the Day of Judgement, we will be held accountable for every idle word that we have spoken.
We were created for excellence and perfection and with God’s help, we strive for that, acknowledging our mistakes and pressing on. Good wishes to you.
You are a good example why i don’t hire caymanians or Jamaicans.
Sick of hearing the old stupid garbage all the time.
Oh Jesus Christ! Get off your soapbox, will you?
This comment is spot on. As a Caymanian, I work with many of my people in education. Unlike an expat whose contract may not be renewed, the Caymanian has an open ended contract with government. Unfortunately, this does not bode well for our education system. I am not putting my people down as we also have some dedicated Caymanian teachers, and I hope I am regarded as such, it’s just that those with an “entitlement” mentality who are not doing their job are contributing to the demise of our youth.
really should have done this before giving away thousands of status’ with PR’s and family
Nothing was given away. It was earned legally under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Laws made by Caymanians. Your comment is just trying to stir trouble. Always pointing fingers, never taking responsibility. That should be these Islands motto.
If you think the whole system is applied legally and appropriately, you plainly have not been paying attention.
You’re right. The delays were neither legal nor appropriate.
Shoot is all I can say.
A commission for this, a commission for that, and just for fun a commission for who cares.
So many commissions.
I want to run the Commission on Commissions, unless of course there is a suitably qualified Caymanian that can do it.
That’s fine. Just don’t trigger a ‘crackdown’ on commissions. Those crackdowns are the worst. They’ve virtually eliminated tinted glass, speeders, drunk drivers, pension cheats and motorcycle mad-men. Don’t let the devestate our beloved commissions, commissioner.
Perhaps government should employ some out the out of work locals to be on this commission.
Put all the entitled unemployed on all these commissions, pay them well, and we will have solved the problem.
Sounds good in principle- how effective this will be only time will tell.
Certain jobs – using criteria like educational qualifications, payscale,skill criteria and other metrics widely used onshore – should be compulsorily blocked for Caymanians. All Caymanian applicants for advertised jobs should be able to submit one copy of their application to Immigration so the employer cannot claim ‘unsuitability’ as is the current practice.
Alden make the system fool proof and not bring a leaky / halfhearted effort with no teeth or un-enforcable.
Protectionism makes things worse, if people are forced to employ people they don’t want, they will just subcontract or outsource that work to someone who can do it. Probably not in Cayman either. Why don’t people see that? It would help them understand that they need to compete in the workplace, not just turn up.
Although turning up would be a good start.
The old “if we have to comply with rules we’ll leave threat”. These rules were here when your company set up here but what has changed thanks to Alden is the enforcement has gone away.
Threat? Is your understanding of business so basic that you don’t get the rules? It’s no threat, it’s happening. Work subbed out to India, Philippines, even the US. Cheaper and better quality without the employment issues. If you don’t get that you have to compete you are seriously deluding yourself and young Caymanians.
8.12 a farcical comment, go ask the Caymanian business owners, including MLA members why they employ so many foreigners. It’s not about price, the price of employing foreigners is higher due to WP fees, health insurance, pension contributions. Stop quoting the rules, smell the coffee and work out for yourself why this happens. Alden may be partly to blame, but there were many before him who got it wrong. And what is this blame game anyway? You are responsible for your own life. Blaming others is a sop for “I am too lazy to change my life and way of thinking”. Easy to do, solves nothing.
Absolutely right. We need to model the rest of the economy on our outstanding Caymanian taxi service!
As a 25 year resident now Caymanian, I have never understood why successive governments have a compelling need to create new bureaucracies instead of just enforcing laws already in existence. If the current Immigration Law was actually enforced as to job ads, succession planning etc.. there would be no need for another tribunal.
Why don’t you cite the clause of the law you’re referring to? Did you read the Premier’s speech? Discrimination is not even mentioned in the immigration law and garners a single paragraph in the Labour law.
15. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Law, any person aggrieved by, or dissatisfied with, any decision of the Chief Immigration Officer under section 30,37C, 42(5) or 49 or of a Board other than a decision under section 14 may, within (a)twenty-eight days of the communication of the decision to him; or (b) such longer period as the Chairman of the Appeals Tribunal may, for good reason shown, allow, serve notice on the Immigration Appeals Tribunal of his intention to appeal such decision.
Yeah, I’m not seeing “discrimination” in there anywhere. And how often has that been used? How would the Caymanian applicant know that the permit has been issued to a permit holder? How would they prove they have been discriminated against? They don’t have ANY information about the permit holder or the recruitment process.
And I disagree that any “person” can appeal a work permit decision. You have to have been a party to the APPLICATION to have standing to appeal the decision made on that application. Otherwise, I could appeal a decision about someone else’s work permit, just because I’m “a person”. Obviously that’s not the case.
Anyway, the proof is in the pudding. It’s clearly not working!!
If you applied and the employer either did not disclose your application, of course you are a party.
The comment was “why don’t they enforce the law”. The above section isn’t one that can be “enforced”, it’s up to someone to appeal.
People cannot appeal because the authorities refuse to accept the complaint, not because they have no right to appeal.
Hahaha, cos the appeal system works sooo well for companies too. Who have to wait a year or three for a hearing.
One would think that Caymanians who know their brothers best would not need laws to force them to hire those same brothers. Is blood thicker than profit?
discrimination against caymanians is a myth just like caymanian unemployment
If you’re right this commission will prove it.
what the hell?…. if there was a case of discrimination there is already a number of legal options and government boards the person can contact…..
There is? Which ones? Did you read the speech?
“In some cases we know the stories first hand, either through constituents, family or friends and so know them to be true.”
Yeah cos friends and family members never make sh*t up to cast themselves in a positive light or blame others for their failures.
This is like saying “I saw it on the internet so it must be true”.
Also, if everybody hears the stories it tells you nothing about the prevalence. If everyone in Cayman has heard five stories of discrimination in the past year, that doesn’t mean there 300,000 instances of discrimination (5 stories x 60,000 people). The real number would be closer to 5! Tales of discrimination are for all intents and purposes urban myth.
Best thing about this would be that employers will actually get some due process. Right now the customary avenue for claims of discrimination is to bad mouth (aka slander) the employer to your friends, family members, MLA’s and guy-sat-next-to-you-at-the-bar, none of whom ever get the other side of the story.
Yeah, discrimination is neither as bad, nor as rampant as “they” say it is. How would YOU know? Does discrimination effect YOU? Try asking any Caymanian (particularly those with darker complexions) if they’ve ever truly been discriminated against.
As a light skinned Caymanian I have been told on more than one occasion that I am not Caymanian enough for the job so not sure your skin colour issue is relevant, sorry.
If you must talk of “darker complexions” take a look at Northward .
Cor Blimey, you do realize that you are living in the Caribbean, don’t you? Yes, most of the prison population here are dark skinned, and so are most of the policemen, firemen, hospital staff, EMTs, retail bank staff, CUC linesman, etc. So what exactly is your point? You are in a predominantly dark skinned society genius.
How about penalizing employers and employment agencies that use slimy machinations to circumvent the laws? Could be $$ or better yet restrictions on new permits or position renewal limitations. Publicize their breaches and let companies know it won’t be tolerated. I know a couple that have operated with impunity and we really wouldn’t miss their style of business should they decide they can’t comply with the rules.
That’s what they’re trying to do!
Caymanians who are aggrieved by the work permit application process can already appeal to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal. The problem appears to be that the Cabinet Office (which is understood to be responsible for the administration of appeals) refuses to allow appeals without documentation that is unavailable to Caymanian appellants who are aggrieved by the grant of a work permit to an expatriate. No new law is required. Just a change of policy and political will.
The law says:
15. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Law, any person aggrieved by, or dissatisfied with, any decision of the Chief Immigration Officer under section 30,37C, 42(5) or 49 or of a Board other than a decision under section 14 may, within (a)twenty-eight days of the communication of the decision to him; or (b) such longer period as the Chairman of the Appeals Tribunal may, for good reason shown, allow, serve notice on the Immigration Appeals Tribunal of his intention to appeal such decision.
There is no need for any committees or bodies or bureaucracy. Just a willingness to enforce the law.
Can they…is the decision sent to them? Do they know that another Caymanian was not hired? Only the employer will know if their permit was declined…unless they want to start publishing that…oh oh oh…no thet wont they will get an injunction …do you remeber the EY v Immigration…Tribunal needed! Forget a commission the only way this will be fixed
The Premier can talk all he want about that subject , but that is not going to fix the problem . Putting Lawyers and Judges to run the program just means a bigger budget and still not solving the problem.
In the article he didn’t mention anything about fixing the all the corruption and bureaucracy that is in place for businesses and Immigration to avoid the hiring process , he didn’t mention about how the work permit process would be fixed. So to me all that talk was just to make Caymanians think that he is doing something to help them , better known as campaign talk .
while this is toothless committee is in place, many expats will qualify for PR and the right to be Caymanian. Do you think this will shift the tide in favor of discriminated Caymanians?
May God help us!! Giving our birthright away… to vultures… giving Status away to s… h… people like candy. Bo Bo we got a mess..
Classy. #caymankind
Yeah, hopefully “giving” your “birthright” away will improve the Caymanian gene pool.
Rather than create another unnecessary government agency, why not just enforce the existing employment law? Just about every major employer on island uses recruitment agencies to either screen applicants or perform their entire HR function outright. Major employers have effectively put a layer of culpability between themselves and the law, pushing the responsibility and risk to the recruiters. When it comes to the recruiters, almost all of the recruitment agencies on island have a majority expatriate staff. So in practice you have a majority expat recruitment machine being asked to give preference to Caymanian applicants. It hasn’t happened and it is not going to happen. It’s the same as when work permit holders in senior positions were told that they had to train a Caymanian to eventually replace them in 7 years. The purpose of the law should have worked in theory, but the plan was not in the best interest of the people tasked with putting it into practice. And no one was punished for not obeying the law. Start enforcing the existing law and prosecute those that do not abide it. One of the major recruitment agencies has recently launched a sister company aimed at providing equal opportunity. Why was this even necessary if the original firm supposedly had the same goal? Just my two cents.
I’m sure the typical replies will follow, Caymanians are lazy, don’t want to work, etc. That is true for many, but not all. The same comments are made about blacks and other minorities in North America, Europe, etc. Smear them to keep them out of the competition. And it works there too. I also expect to see the typical Caymanian entitlement comments. Funny how people that are entitled and privileged back in their home countries have no qualms about calling other people entitled abroad.
Hopefully, this will apply to the public sector as well and being Caymanian will be adjudged as defined by the law and will cover things such as nepotism and affiliations and most suitably qualified
25% of the Cayman Islands Government is made up of expats. Why does the CIG not focus on cleaning up their own backyard first before making life so difficult for private sector entities attempting to hire competent and qualified people in Cayman?
I believe this idea will apply to both private and public sectors. Are you afraid of it applying to the private sector?
So what you’re saying is that any time an employer hires an expat they are obviously discriminating against a Caymanian? Hmmmm.
There are 22,500 more jobs than Caymanians in the workforce (24,000 permits minus 1,500 unemployed Caymanians). Basically even if every Caymanian was employed we would need 22,500 expats.
You can’t fill EVERY job with a Caymanian. You just can’t.
Work permits are not a result of discrimination they’re a result of MATH.
Not always.
@5:52 You’re right. You can’t fill every job with a Caymanian. But the law states that you should TRY. That’s the problem. Nobody tries. They just find ways to circumvent the law. Imagine what would happen if, rather than taking applications from Caymanians and expats at the same time, employers limited their recruitment search to Caymanians ONLY. Wouldn’t they find a suitable Caymanian then? Of course they would. Restrict recruitment to locals only for the first month. You’ll find the qualified local that you need. If you advertise to the entire world, you’re most certain to find a qualified foreigner faster than you’d find a qualified local.
Public service already has their appeals process. (Which was actually in the news recently. Its not perfect, but at least it exists.) This is trying to get the private sector to get with the times and do the right thing. Cue howls of outrage.
It’s not just a matter of Caymanian vs expat, it’s a matter of choosing the right candidate for the job. There was a recent advertisement for a job in education where a friend who had all the qualifications and experience was not shortlisted (Caymanian), however another Caymanian (recently acquired status) without the qualifications or experience was interviewed. Now I don’t know who eventually will get the job but I do know that my friend is far more suited than at least one of the interviewees. How does that happen?
Ans: Who you know.
I hope that fairness will be dealt across the board. The positions than are vacant or temporarily filled by outsiders, will be open for Caymanian applicants, and after the short listing, the temp will be replaced by a local. It seems that when posts are filled with temps, they are kept on in preference of the hiring the Caymanian. We are watching a position in an government Ministry, and who is really going to warm that seat.
8:55 the civil service has done a great job recently of rooting out hires and promotions based on favouritism nepotism bernieism etc. Can’t say the same for the the run away SAGC’s like the Port.
2.41pm That’s nonsense, if it were true there would be nobody left.
Another Committee which will consist of political cronies and will add to the never ending line of bureaucracy!
I rolled my eyes and said the exact same thing.
Except it’s not a committee numb nuts. It’s a commission.
Are the Ombudsman or the Auditor General “just another committee”?
lol
Yes
Could see a problem already with the makeup of such a Committee. It needs to be made up of Caymanians representing the labour force and not business.