By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune News Editor
tmthompson@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has directed government officials to ensure that no foreigner should get a work permit where there are qualified Bahamians to fill that position, Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes said yesterday.
Speaking about the Free National Movement’s position on the issue yesterday, Mr Foulkes said the Minnis administration is committed to maximising Bahamian employment where possible adding that the government is in talks with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for a $20m loan for apprenticeship and workforce training.
Mr Foulkes made the comments as a guest on the 96.9 FM show The Political Review with host Quincy Parker yesterday.
Senator Foulkes said since assuming his post after the May 10 election, he has been “very strict” in approving labour certificates for work permits and has denied or deferred many of them.
“The prime minister has given me directions to ensure that no foreigner gets a permit where there is a Bahamian available to do the job,” Mr Foulkes told the show’s host.
“I have given directions to the director of labour and we are represented on the Immigration Board and no work permit can be issued without what is commonly known as a labour certificate, we call them notice of vacancies, unless there is a heads of agreement between the government and the developers or owners of a resort that says the general manager, financial officer or somebody else you can get work permits for them.
“For example, Atlantis has an agreement where they are capped off with a certain number of permits . . . normally if you have an investor come in he would want persons that he has been working with to enhance his investment and that is understandable. But where that is not the case we have to ensure, because we have a serious unemployment problem, and it goes back to what was in the Speech from the Throne, we are going to begin a massive training and retraining programme.
“We are in negotiations with the IDB now to secure a $20m loan to concentrate on hard skills development and training and apprenticeship.”
When asked about the perception that this may mean no more work permits will be given under this administration, Mr Foulkes said: “We will implement our policy and wherever there is a Bahamian who is qualified to do the job and a foreigner or an expat is applying for that position, we will refuse the application.”
He added that in many cases, however, members of the public may assume an expat is in the country on a work permit, when in fact the person has married a Bahamian and has permanent residence with the right to work in the Bahamas.
Mr Foulkes also referred to a recent incident where he had to refuse a request from a hotel because there are unemployed Bahamians who can fill the position where a foreign worker was being sought.
“We had an application from a major hotel for a food and beverage director. I declined it, because there are Bahamians who are trained in food and beverage in this country who are unemployed and we know who they are and we are sending some of them to that hotel to be interviewed,” he said, adding that this incident happened about a week ago.
He said the Bahamas has adopted a policy that where a specialised foreigner is required, the government has mandated that the employer identify a Bahamian who has skills in that area to train for this post for a period of time to learn the skill and eventually take over the post from the foreign worker.
He admitted that the government has to be more vigilant in regard to the work permit process, adding that employers often try to come up with different schemes to get around protocol.
“Now what some of the companies do, they put criteria in it (job vacancies) that makes it almost impossible for a Bahamian to meet that criteria or very few Bahamians. What we do in those cases is we call the persons in and they have to demonstrate to us why they are doing that. For example, say you want a front desk manager at one of the hotels, but (the candidate) must be fluent in four languages. That’s absolutely ridiculous. What that means is they have somebody at their head office who speaks four languages and they want to bring to Nassau.”
Mr Foulkes held the post of minister of labour in the last Ingraham administration.
Comments
BahamasForBahamians 7 years, 5 months ago
Wow in 2017 - is this being heralded as a new initiative?
This has been standard since Loftus Roker was in cabinet. (Pindlings Cabinet to bring to reality)
Hubert Ingraham moved away from this philosophy paving the way for the PLP to win an election on the grounds of "Believing in Bahamians in 2012".
This article highlights Dion Foulkes' disconnect from the general populace.
His first talking point is an initiative that has been so well carried in the past term, that it is not an issue of the day. This is what happens when you appoint someone who is not involved with the day to day life of the political affairs of this country.
Newsflash Dion: The top issues in the Min. of Labour are all industrial. Leave the rest to Brent at The Ministry of Immigration..
Adrian Gibson would've done so much better in this post. -Sigh
Who advised Hubert Minnis in the selection of these cabinet posts?
TalRussell 7 years, 5 months ago
Comrade BahamasForBahamians, Papa Hubert, or so I'm told, had a designer's satchel he carried with him on his quick flight over to China, full of 5000 work permits for Chinese nationals. Papa, or so I am told, instructed Brent...here Brent to just hurry-up and sign these 5000 work permits - don't ask me no questions, okay?
Comrade does you has any idea how long takes sign your signature 5000 times - while the PM is standing in your office waiting?
BahamasForBahamians 7 years, 5 months ago
Exactly my point.
Dion is ten years behind with this rhetoric.
Bahamians would've appreciated this message in a 2007 Cabinet when work permits were given to Jose Cartelone and 5,000 chinese.
In addition to the fact, that his first opportunity behind a microphone he uses the word 'borrow'. Seems like a common trait among the incoming cabinet ministers.
This is very unusual when the election was won on the premise of recovering government funds that have been stolen.... so that we can curb the additional borrowing, taxation and spending.
This appears to be a complete opposite of campaign promises.. ALREADY
banker 7 years, 5 months ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI3tSF7…
John 7 years, 5 months ago
What did Tal say..please translate
ashley14 7 years, 5 months ago
You just love him, lol.
ashley14 7 years, 5 months ago
You make me laugh. I like reading what you have to say. Lisa
DDK 7 years, 5 months ago
“We are in negotiations with the IDB now to secure a $20m loan to concentrate on hard skills development and training and apprenticeship.”
WHY DO WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT BORROWING MORE MONEY? EVERY WHERE YOU LOOK, SOME MINISTER OR THE OTHER WANTS TO BORROW MILLIONS.
Publius 7 years, 5 months ago
And every year or every other year this same loan is issued. What changes with the skill set of our workforce? Nothing. The IDB is making a killing off member countries with these loans year after year.
DDK 7 years, 5 months ago
Right you are.
Publius 7 years, 5 months ago
As soon as successive governments get in, their favorite word becomes "borrow". While some borrowing would inevitably take place, it is also the easy and lazy way out of governance in many cases.
Greentea 7 years, 5 months ago
DDK and Publius- Why is this man in government again? What skill set does he bring that Minnis found he and therefore "we" just couldn't live without? Same ole @#$. Same rhetoric. Same lack of ideas and innovation. Every government. Every time. Borrow. Jobs. "No work permits for foreigners" for jobs Bahamians can accomplish. All bullsh*t. Build institutions and systems that work otherwise this is just another 20m down the damn drain.
Publius 7 years, 5 months ago
He brings his last name and the sense of entitlement that family has to FNM spoils, that's essentially what he brings. And you're right; so far, the rhetoric is the same ole same ole.
Reality_Check 7 years, 5 months ago
In other words, he's no different than the grossly incompetent Glenys Hanna-Martin who owes her station in Bahamian politics to nepotism and voters in her constituency who fully deserve having her as their ding bat representative!
tell_it_like_it_is 7 years, 5 months ago
Exactly DDK, that was the first thing that caught my eye. I'm sure there are many foreign workers currently in positions that Bahamians could serve in that 'some' Bahamians probably are already qualified for without needing training. With all the critical needs out there for this country I don't think the National Debt needs to be unnecessarily increased with Workforce training.
Why does every government get so quickly carried away with spending?
cmiller 7 years, 5 months ago
This is not a new concept, but has never been taken seriously. A school like Lyford Cay School brings in foreign teachers to teach PE, Music, and Art. Really??????
Publius 7 years, 5 months ago
Those will continue to be approved no doubt.
ohdrap4 7 years, 5 months ago
these schools also pay crap, and Bahamainas can find something better.
the newbie english teachers take a contract to play on the beach and eat ramen noodles for three years then they go gladly back home.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 5 months ago
That is where the special interests in the country will continue to bully the government ................. Who sends their children to Tamberly, QC, LIS, St. Andrew's & Lyford Cay etc.???? .................. Then follow the money/status
tell_it_like_it_is 7 years, 5 months ago
It's so interesting that people right here seem to think there are hardly any trustworthy Bahamians, or many who don't have any business sense. I think that is a warped view of the populace.
We seem to forget that many developed nations have the same policies of putting their citizens first (e.g. UK, Canada - just to name a few). Unemployment is a real issue and I don't think that everyone who unemployed is just lazy, unqualified, or untrustworthy.
BahamasForBahamians 7 years, 5 months ago
Interesting change of mind by the FNM since 2013:
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/mar…
TalRussell 7 years, 5 months ago
Comrades! Why in the hell would PM Minnis thinks it smart to have appointed Crown Ministers to head ministries - whose annual budget in less than $5 to $10 million dollars.
I have a sister who operates a medium sized business generating several millions dollars year in revenue and she is the Substantive Crown Minister, Junior State Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, Permanent Secretary, Police Chauffeur, her own Bodyguard (unarmed), and she had buy her own car and pay the rental, lights bill and staff for her office.
baldbeardedbahamian 7 years, 5 months ago
are you drunk? posting this stuff.
Economist 7 years, 5 months ago
If we are to improve the economy we MUST change our immigration policy.
This is the same stuff that has been holding us back for years.
TalRussell 7 years, 5 months ago
Comrade Economist, as a member CARICOM - why do we even need work permits? Just maybe going the way of 'open borders' is the real economic future for the Bahamaland to take advantage of?
Do you know that neither the PLP or red Shirts, ever mentioned immigration once during the 2017 general election campaign?
How wrong we were to have thoughts that a vote for the DNA would be a vote for the PLP?
proudloudandfnm 7 years, 5 months ago
Another loan for training.
What happened to BTVI, NTI, UOB????
This FNM reminds me a little too much of the PLP....
Reality_Check 7 years, 5 months ago
With Minnis at the helm, the new FNM government will soon be reminding us too much of the corrupt Christie-led PLP government.....or as @Mudda forewarned us....a Christie-led govt on steroids!
OldFort2012 7 years, 5 months ago
If you really want Bahamians to get jobs: EDUCATE THEM PROPERLY!!! Everything else is a gimmick, for public consumption only.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 5 months ago
Shortsighted. Some of these companies want their people in place simply as a matter of trust. They want their people looking after their interest. I don't believe there's anything sinister in that, but you have to take that into your policy as well. How many of these type positions will you allow and in what areas?
Nuway 7 years, 5 months ago
Old Fort2012, Bahamians are educated and quite qualified for many of these jobs already and in fact can do them much better than the expats who are blocking them.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 5 months ago
It's not always about who can do the job, sometimes it's about trust.bahamians have a very warped view of how business is conducted. I worked for a company where the Bahamian overseer did some "normal" Bahamian transactions that anywhere else in the world would have been considered unethical. The company removed them, has never put another Bahamian in the position and I don't believe they ever will
John 7 years, 5 months ago
Then we as ask you, who taught them? Bring me one positive post you have made about Bahamians. You are one who still looking for slaves..But no, not today! Your posts are bogus!
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 5 months ago
Bogus? But I just told you what the Bahamian did, how they got fired and how the company never put another Bahamian in the post. As far as I remember tests not the definition of "bogus". Many Bahamians refuse to admit that we have SERIOUS problems with our human resources. They want to repeat "it's better in the ?Bahamas" until they actual believe, meanwhile it's getting dirtier and dirtier, more people are running red lights, more people are setting up ramshackle stalls all over the roads and beaches, teifin' is rampant, but we put on blinders and say this is the best little island ever. The real word is "delusional".
Now that doesn't mean it can't be fixed. Fixing comes after admitting the problem.
BMW 7 years, 5 months ago
its called entitlement !!!!
Baha10 7 years, 5 months ago
With notable exceptions, most Bahamians are ill prepared for today's Business World in terms of education, skills, ambition and worst, business ethics. Whether you like it or not, this Country has suffered tremendously post Independence due to our Immigration Policy. Just look at Cayman today, which was built off our Immigration Policy, do you see any unemployed Caymanians? "No." Do you see a lot of ex-pats helping to build Cayman and provide employment? "Yes." From a 2 horse Town at the time of our Independence, to World Leader today in Offshore Services, whereas the proudest moment for our Nation was our recent General Election ... and now we hear instead of uplifting talk about how to develop, regrettably more archaic backward talk, which has got is in the current mess we re in. FYI - Foreign People are not evil, they can HELP us and besides, unless you are Lucayan, we are ALL Foreign, Yes, even those of African descent, just been here a "little" longer. Please GROW UP Bahamas! The People that are Smart and have Money are the ones we want, as they will build "our" Country, not the Immigrants that arrive illegally, who we seem quite happy to hand out Passports to because we can not be bothered to weed our yards any more and with a "Yes Daddy/Mummy"appear less threatening. Have you ever actually seen the way these passive people riot when they are no longer subservient ... by placing burning tyres over those they oppose ... "Yes Daddy/Mummy" ... never once seen an American, Canadian, English or European do something so barbaric yet, unless of course one reckons getting you out of bed to go to work ... and actually making one work to a certain standard is barbaric!
John 7 years, 5 months ago
You are so racists..Haitians and the ones who help bring an to your 450 years of barbaric slavery. And after that they went on to build one of the most booming economies ever of a black country. And what happened after that. France put a hefty bill on them for granting their freedom from slavery and then made agreements with all the other 'free' countries not to do trade with Haiti, virtyally shutting that country down and sinking them into poverty. Poverty that is still going on today. Similar efforts has been made against Brazil, Venezuala and Nigeria, where the forces are trying to load that country with national debt, like they have done so many other countries around the world. Then they move in with their own agenda.
Reality_Check 7 years, 5 months ago
You have a very misguided understanding of history my friend when it comes to the Haitian people. Remember, everything you read on the internet is not necessarily true. There's an awful lot of misinformation deliberately put out there in cyber space for consumption by the more naive or less well educated among us.
licks2 7 years, 5 months ago
Talking at times without actually knowing can be tricky. . .the french revolution of 1789-1799 which was anti slavery influenced the the 1791-1803 revolution in Haiti against the civilian colonial population! In 1795 Tousaint-Louverture, Dessaline and Christophe leaders of the uprising made peace with revolutionary France because the French revolutionaries had already abolished all notion of slavery in 1789. . .2 years before the Haitian revolution got started in 1791! Tousaint-Louverture proclaimed himself GG in 1801 and went on to conquer the Spanish side of the Island freeing all slaves there too. . .the French revolutionary ordered a counter strick against Haiti in 1802. . . Tousaint-Louverture agreed to a cease fire in 1802, retired to his plantation but was arrested in 1803 and imprisoned in France until he died! Napollian ordered the re-enslavement of the Haitians prompting Dassaline with British help, to revolt against French rule again in 1803 and declare Haiti an independent nation. . .1804 Dassaline declared himself Emperor and was killed in a Haitian revolt in 1806! France placed reparations on Haiti after it collaborated with the British to take French lands from its citizens. . .which the USA INSISTED IT PAID IN 1815 after the USA made Haiti a military state.. . .which it kept until Papa Doc came to power. . .Haiti was never an economic power after the revolution!! France made her requests for payments to the Americans who insisted that Haiti paid! Haiti was considered the "jewel of the Caribbean" when the French were colonial owners!
banker 7 years, 5 months ago
@Baha10 What you say is the truth. I know of a person who lives on Eastern Road, and runs a very successful business. I see him working alongside his employees. I asked him why, and he said essentially the same thing -- Bahamians by-and-large do not know how to conduct themselves in business. The classic story is hiring a young man, who when told of his starting date, wanted two weeks holidays beginning on his start date and he wanted pay for those two weeks -- before he even did a lick of work.
Publius 7 years, 5 months ago
How ironic that this was Fred Mitchell's exact headline announcement when he became Minister of Immigration.
John 7 years, 5 months ago
Like Donald Trump said, "America for Americans first", so the Bahamas needs to be for Bahamians first. To many foreigners are here that does not mean the Bahamas well. They only want the fat off the land. They abuse and mistreat Bahamians, especially their workers and many try to keep our politicians in their back pockets. Now is the time to stop pandering to projects like Bah Mar and start empowering Bahamians to own similar projects. Legitimate and progressive foreign investors will always be welcome but keep the carpet baggers out.
DEDDIE 7 years, 5 months ago
Our elected officials are totally ignorant of what other countries are doing with regards to immigration. There is a world wide competition for qualified immigrants. United States and Canada have recognized this and has fully exploited it in the Western World. These two countries recognized that immigration is a net plus not a net negative. Their economies continue to grow not because of their indigenous population but because of immigrants. Case and point,I have a classmate with a PHD in physics who lives and work in the United States.
John 7 years, 5 months ago
The reason why slavery endured for so long, is because the slave masters were incapable of doing the work they required of the slaves and they did not want to pay anyone else to do it. today the hotels are the great big slave houses of the Bahamas and the Caribbean and they still keep the locals as house slaves. they want to pay a maid in Freeport $4.25 to clean a hotel room the sells for over $1,000.00 a night. Even worse than that, the bosses expect her to report to work when there are no rooms to clean, so she must find transportation and lunch on the days that she has ZERO income. and smartly dressed in a clean neatly pressed uniform.
Economist 7 years, 5 months ago
Which hotel has $1,000.00 dollar a night rooms in Freeport? There are hardly any hotels open in Freeport and no high end ones.
The information you have is incorrect.
John 7 years, 5 months ago
The 'new' alternative to slavery is robbing a country of it's natural resources, and/or loading the country with debt and foreign workers such that all the country's revenue leaves the country and goes back to the 'secret' masters who control the world economy. The country is left with high unemployment, a high and usually unpayable national debt, and a downgraded financial status.
Economist 7 years, 5 months ago
Is this what happened in Bermuda, Cayman and Turks & Caicos?
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 5 months ago
Minnis and the FNM should have never allowed Dion Foulkes, Carl Bethel and Brent Symonette to re-enter active politics. These three will now be training the newcomers to the Cabinet, the House and the Senate in the art of the old bad ways of yesterday's politicians. That's certainly not what we bargained for when we decided to change the government!
concernedcitizen 7 years, 5 months ago
The truth be told we got rid of the foreign teachers ,mostly British , too fast and when not enough Bahamians could pass abroad we made COB to basically put an unskilled and under educated work force teaching our kids . I dated a teacher w a doctorate in education from Costa Rica although she said there were a few good Bahamian teachers it was few and far between and too many were promoted b/c of connections and not ability .Geez we keep lower the passing grade to appear to succeed .She told me a story of wanting to tell a parent of their childs behavior lack of effort and her Bahamian teacher friend telling her not too b/c the parents would chastise and verbally abuse her and probably run to immigration .Our schools have been extremely expensive baby sitting services ..
John 7 years, 5 months ago
Too many of the British teachers got pregnant and/or the male ones also made babies..who remembers the mini cars and the mini skirts. Yes there are black Bahamians who carry last names. Pickering, Pyart's, Dyson's and others who had to take their mama's last name.(they kept it under cover and did not put it on the front page of the Punch and there was no Facebook). But remember too, when the British teachers were here we were still drinking Ovaltine and taking Phensic. Today it's Red Bull and Hennessy and lil bit weed, Hybird please). The British system was more formal and structured and as we switched to the American way of life, there was a total social breakdown and we became a law less (less law) society. Even our politics changed and became more corrupt and less productive and the country lost its moral compass and got saddled with debt. Under the old school system if you were not cutting it academically you were put in classes where you learnt skills and trade. Today they degrade the children and call it 'special ed." The fact is no one left a public school without the ability to function and earn a living. Many of the past businessmen and political leaders did not have a formal education beyond the 6th grade. They got on the job training.
Reality_Check 7 years, 5 months ago
I think it's safe to say most of us have stopped reading whatever comments you post to this or any other website. Cheerio!
cmiller 7 years, 5 months ago
You are safe to say that. i second it!!!!
banker 7 years, 5 months ago
I actually like his posts. I look at them at the same way I look at a weird bug that I have never seen before. The posts are a strange combination of Googled facts that are misinterpreted to fit the current premise of the day or the view that end times are upon us.
I quite enjoyed the fables of poisoning the weed of the black man to make him a murderous beast, or that Myles Munroe predicted a whole pile of shiite, but couldn't predict his private jet hitting the gantry crane, wiping out several families in the process. It is better entertainment than watching Ivan grind his axes in The Punch. I don't want to brag or anything, but according to John, I have survived the end of the world about 5 times. I am not afraid of the rapture and second coming -- it's the zombie apocalypse that is disturbing.
John 7 years, 5 months ago
wishful thinking.
concernedcitizen 7 years, 5 months ago
Our education is a mess and the University is a University in name only ,,are University is not producing students w/ even a 10 grade level ,,its about as idiotic as that "shock treatment " w people shouting at kids w bad English .When I took the Capt license course by the Coast guard in the US you had to pass w 90 .When I took my Bahamian Capts License you needed 70% to pass and got 30% for taking the course ,,Do you want a boat Capt , that passes w / getting 40% of the questions on the test right ..We have been lowering the passing grades to cover up for our falling education system ..You regularly see teachers and their union leaders on TV that can,t speak proper English ,and I,m not talking accent ,or conjugate a sentence To bring in foreign teachers now would be a waste of time and money ,they could not discipline our little darlins ,and if they did their mothers would try to harm them physically .
DaGoobs 7 years, 5 months ago
We have never had a coherent work permits policy that was tied to any long term objectives regarding the education, hiring and employment of Bahamians. The mantra during the times of Pindling's governments was "Bahamas for Bahamians" but whenever the banks, hotels, insurance companies and other businesses with offshore affiliations required "their" people in senior or specialist positions, they got the work permits they needed through either through genuine need, political clout or false advertising overstating the qualifications required for the job. However, nowhere in government policy, whether PLP or FNM, has there been a hard and fast rule that the permit is granted for a specified period of time (say 3, 5 or maximum 10 years) or a measurable requirement that both the employer and the permit holder mentor and upskill the permit holder's Bahamian understudies so that when the permit expired one or more of the understudies was sufficiently skilled and knowledgable to take over the position. One reason the British are getting out of the European Union is because of the free flow of labour and the perception that they are being unindated with Eastern Europeans who come for the jobs and other social benefits. One reason the Bahamas has never gone whole hog into CARICOM membership is because of the fear of being unindated with employees from West Indian countries who would take jobs away from Bahamians. If you check most job advertisements for skilled positions in the papers, the employer many times wants someone with specialised qualifications and years of experience, sometimes experience gained outside the Bahamas. The average college grad may have the paper qualifications but not the job related experience so they are excluded from applying before they have even begun. My recent advice to my son-in-law on graduating from college in Canada was to stay there and gain work experience because Bahamian employers now seem to want their skilled Bahamian workers to have some foreign job experience. The Bahamas does not do surveys to determine what types of jobs and qualifications are trending now and what types of jobs and qualifications are employers likely to require within the next 3-5-10 year cycle to assist with planning and training. So we stumble along doing things the same old way and making the same old promise of "Bahamas for Bahamians" but with no plan or information as to what types of skills should we be concentrating on. How many work permit holders do we have in the Bahamas, in what areas and what are their skills and expertise? To paraphrase someone else's question, do employers really need to import Costa Ricans and Chileans to be maids and housekeepers?
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