Are our Labour and Immigration Departments doing their job properly?

I noticed that a large international franchise is advertising an employment vacancy in Nassau. As is so often the case, some of the criteria seems to indicate that they already have a non Bahamian for the job (don’t we often see local jobs advertised by other companies, asking for applicants to be able to speak such languages as Japanese!).

I went to the website for this international franchise company and noticed that while positions in other locations for this company around the world listed as part of the criteria for those jobs - “Must currently possess appropriate, legal working documents to work in this country”, this was not specified as criteria for the vacancy in Nassau! Therefore, it is wide open for people to apply from around the world!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how our Labour and Immigration Departments can do a better job, ensuring that unreasonable requirements are not specified for job vacancies (which eliminate a Bahamian for applying for employment positions)? What about a “Watch Dog Committee” that would scrutinize all these so called employment “vacancies” advertised in our local newspapers?

There are too many Bahamians out of work, needing jobs, and there are many more young Bahamians coming out of school who desperately need work.

Are our Labour and Immigration Departments doing their job properly?

I noticed that a large international franchise is advertising an employment vacancy in Nassau. As is so often the case, some of the criteria seems to indicate that they already have a non Bahamian for the job (don’t we often see local jobs advertised by other companies, asking for applicants to be able to speak such languages as Japanese!).

I went to the website for this international franchise company and noticed that while positions in other locations for this company around the world listed as part of the criteria for those jobs - “Must currently possess appropriate, legal working documents to work in this country”, this was not specified as criteria for the vacancy in Nassau! Therefore, it is wide open for people to apply from around the world!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how our Labour and Immigration Departments can do a better job, ensuring that unreasonable requirements are not specified for job vacancies (which eliminate a Bahamian for applying for employment positions)? What about a “Watch Dog Committee” that would scrutinize all these so called employment “vacancies” advertised in our local newspapers?

There are too many Bahamians out of work, needing jobs, and there are many more young Bahamians coming out of school who desperately need work.

As I understand it, when a person applies for a non-Bahamian to work here, among the papers they must supply to the Immigration Dept. is a copy of any ads place in the newspaper looking for local people who can fill the job.

The ads you see in the newspapers have not been submitted to the Immigration Dept. as yet. When they are submitted, they might well be rejected unless the submitting company can prove that a knowledge of Japanese, or any other "strange" requirement, is part of the job - For example, they might be opening a place that will attract a lot of Japanese people, or the applicant might have to travel to Japan on the companies business - but they will have to prove this to Immigration. If they fail to, they must start all over again and put another ad in the papers, excluding the reference to the language requirements as the first ads will be rejected. (I dont know if Japanese was stated in the ad. I have not seen it but I use that as an example.)

It is not as easy to "pull the wool" over the Immigration's eyes as some folks think! They, Immigration, can only start to do their job on matters like this once the relevant papers are in their hands.

i know a US guy who got sponsored for a work permit for an outisland hotel, but he is working in Nassau in the security business!!!!

He has already been held by Immigration in the past for working for a local security company with no work permit!! (no, not my company, some large local company).

I think that the Labour Department needs to expand and modernized to really assess the situation with the work permits.

The way that it is done now is that the person applying for the work permit advertizes in the newspaper and then cut out copies of three papers and attach it to the labour certificate request form.

Even the simplest mind know that there is no check and balance in that system. What needs to happen is the Labour Department needs to do the advertising and allow persons to respond to them. Based on the criteria that is advertised highly qualified labour persons should interview the applicants and see whether in their opinion the person may be suitable for the job allowing the permit applicant to also interview and presnt them with their findings and then the labour certificate should be issued.

Right now all they are doing is rubberstamping and ot I think othat it is making Immigration job even harder because they have to go on insticnt more than facts.

It would mean the cost of advertising would be included in the fee for the labor certificate and more persons need to be hired by labour to preform these tasks.

Then the decision that is made would be more reliable than abstract.

Mel

I agree with the previous post.

One visit at the labour dept. will show their complete lack of resources.

Many people take advantage of this system by publishing job descriptions which do not portray the real duties of the job.

Other publish a salary way below market rates which will keep Bahamians from applying. Immigration authorities cannot question the issues once the certificate of vacancy is issued,

I agree with the previous post.

One visit at the labour dept. will show their complete lack of resources.

Many people take advantage of this system by publishing job descriptions which do not portray the real duties of the job.

Other publish a salary way below market rates which will keep Bahamians from applying. Immigration authorities cannot question the issues once the certificate of vacancy is issued,

bworker, you have definitely hit the nail on the head! Advertised job descriptions often do not portray the real duties of the job + salaries of advertised jobs are sometimes below reasonable rates. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though we really have "market rates" here for jobs! I wish we did.

We need to enforce a "Bahamians First" policy.
Place a ban on foreign employment for Managerial positions until a full, independent review of hiring practices by companies based here in the Bahamas is carried out.

Labour and Immigration Departments without a doubt needs revamping every year.

We need to enforce a "Bahamians First" policy.
Place a ban on foreign employment for Managerial positions until a full, independent review of hiring practices by companies based here in the Bahamas is carried out.

Labour and Immigration Departments without a doubt needs revamping every year.


I don't think it's necessarily the managerial positions, Delroy - at least, not all of them; many foreign managers have a lot to offer local employees and make valuable contributions to our country and our people.

The problem is that Bahamians are often not getting trained by these foreign managers.

It was a good concept in the beginning, as most Bahamians don’t have the money to go abroad for training, but it doesn't seem to have worked. We need a better system in place – one that works!

We need to enforce a "Bahamians First" policy.
Place a ban on foreign employment for Managerial positions until a full, independent review of hiring practices by companies based here in the Bahamas is carried out.

Labour and Immigration Departments without a doubt needs revamping every year.


Delroy

here we go again BAN seems to be your simple solution to most things you really cant grasp.
I wonder do you live your life in denial?? Or do you just have some kind of problem with foreigners, i smell racism Delroy!! I hope for your sake that i am mistaking the smell.

Tina

Delroy has a point. In the Bahamas, Foreignors are hired way too much, with the thinking that they actually know what they are doing. In the trades industries for example, many foriegnors hired are either alcholics or drug adiks, and the ones that are not, take the money they earn out of this country as fast as they can. Trust me I know, I am on a daily basis giving free tech support on CCTV to US, Uk, etc, technicians.

I agree for some certain business industries training may be required from professionals, from outside of the Bahamas, though I can see this mostly being the case in the retail industry, that they may finally get taught how to treat their customers as customers and not the enemy!

I know 'of' many foreignors that have been given work permits for businesses that locals can do just as good. It is all to do with the local economy, Bahamians need jobs, our economy is in the hole. Local businesses are shutting down every day. And if you want to know how they get their licences alot of the time, payoffs and who you know. Proof is there but I am not here to post any of it, just to make a point.

Since this is not going to change, no matter what we say here, the best thing to do is, learn as much as or more than your foriegn competition, that you will stand more of a chance of getting the job over them, get jobs, experience, references, etc., then you can in the end just laugh in their and the people that hire them, faces!! :-))))))

I have heard about this also in the CCTV and alarms area. I have a friend working in that area who told me that they have had to do allot of clean up work in some homes and businesses. This is after the company (usually US based) had left but did not install the alarm system properly.

He also told me that there are some businesses and homes that would only allow the Bahamian worker to go so far with the installation and hire another company to from overseas to finish the job which could have been done by a company here.

There really needs to be a ban on this until a "full, independent review of hiring practices by companies based here in the Bahamas is carried out."

We need to enforce a "Bahamians First" policy.
Place a ban on foreign employment for Managerial positions until a full, independent review of hiring practices by companies based here in the Bahamas is carried out.

Labour and Immigration Departments without a doubt needs revamping every year.

Hey Delroy why is it with you. Delroy does not understand something Ban it.
Why not say I don't understand it let me learn? Or are you the smartest person in the world.

Let me ask you a question (here we go again I am asking Delroy a question)
Where would the Bahamas be if it were notfor the forigner????

Hey Delroy why is it with you. Delroy does not understand something Ban it.
Why not say I don't understand it let me learn? Or are you the smartest person in the world.

Let me ask you a question (here we go again I am asking Delroy a question)
Where would the Bahamas be if it were not for the forigner????

50 miles off the coast of the United States.

I have heard about this also in the CCTV and alarms area. I have a friend working in that area who told me that they have had to do allot of clean up work in some homes and businesses. This is after the company (usually US based) had left but did not install the alarm system properly.

He also told me that there are some businesses and homes that would only allow the Bahamian worker to go so far with the installation and hire another company to from overseas to finish the job which could have been done by a company here.

There really needs to be a ban on this until a "full, independent review of hiring practices by companies based here in the Bahamas is carried out."

I can name a few, Ocean Club Estates, Lyford Cay Homes, Old Fort Bay, etc

If I hear of them, Id call imigration in a flash!

It has nothing to do with competition, if these foriegn companies could install good products, and then support it, but they do not, not to mention they even charge more for products and labour than I do, plus I dont need to live in the clients home for 2 weeks while they take their time!!

When I do a job, I do it ALL THE WAY :-)
Other wise they can go get 'scre*d' by a foreign company if they like.

I can name a few, Ocean Club Estates, Lyford Cay Homes, Old Fort Bay, etc

If I hear of them, Id call imigration in a flash!

It has nothing to do with competition, if these foriegn companies could install good products, and then support it, but they do not, not to mention they even charge more for products and labour than I do, plus I dont need to live in the clients home for 2 weeks while they take their time!!

When I do a job, I do it ALL THE WAY :-)
Other wise they can go get 'scre*d' by a foreign company if they like.

The people you write about are from Ocean Club Estates, Lyford Cay Homes, Old Fort Bay. These are rich people, smart people. They know the value of a buck. They keep in touch with each other, they know who is good (at their job) and who is not. If Mrs. "Y" in Lyford Cay had a bad experience with a company, Mrs. "A" through "X" would know about it. So I cannot believe all US companies who come here to do the work you mention are that bad.

On the other hand most of the people in the areas you mention do not trust Bahamian workers. They have had bad experiences, expensive experiences and the word had gotten out, Bahamians can't do the job. I mix with some of these people from Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay so I know.

It took my Bahamian alarm company six tries to get my alarms right! (and they did not charge me for the extra visits) But they did get it right and it works well and they are here, in Nassau, to fix any troubles that might happen.

I tell the folks at Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay to give the locals a chance! They may not get it right the first time, but who does and they are here! They will come back and get it right if you give them a chance. "Use local people" is my mantra! Give them a chance. They can do the job, if given the opportunity.

So, Rory, if you are called out to Lyford Cay, or Old Fort Bay, do a good job. As I am sure you will. I might have recommended you to them!