The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Chamber of Commerce director yesterday urged labour policymakers to meet with him over a more effective “solution” to their understudy demands, and warned: “Not talking creates problems.”

Peter Goudie, pictured, who heads the chamber’s labour committee, told Tribune Business that the latest threats to revoke work permits if employers failed to establish proper training schemes, and identify understudies to take over from expatriates, was counterproductive to creating more Bahamian jobs.

Responding to the latest salvo from John Pinder, director of labour, he said he had made two attempts to arrange a meeting with him and Senator Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, to discuss an alternative that would give Bahamians the expertise they needed to take over from expatriates when their work permits expired.

Mr Goudie argued that a more effective way for Mr Pinder to achieve his objectives was for Bahamians to overcome their “reluctance” to leave The Bahamas and work abroad, arguing that the experience and qualifications gained would be far more valuable than “understudying” someone at home.

And he pleaded for greater dialogue between the Government’s top labour officials and the private sector on any reforms that could impact the latter, adding that failure to do so would lead to resistance from those most impacted by the change.

“I have made at least two attempts to arrange a meeting with the minister of labour to do with a possible solution and dialogue on this subject, but to no avail,” Mr Goudie told this newspaper. “What I can’t understand is why the director of labour or minister of labour introduce or refine a policy without having dialogue with the business community.

“We have never heard a word from them on this subject. We have other solutions and would like to have dialogue, but if you don’t have dialogue with the people you’re putting the policy on you’re going to create problems.”

Mr Goudie said it had always been the policy that Bahamian employers needed to name an “understudy” to take over from the expatriate hire when applying for a work permit, but this had never been “fully enforced” as the Government simply lacked the necessary manpower to do so.

Arguing that Mr Pinder’s latest version of this policy was likely to be “unworkable”, Mr Goudie said he and another person - who he declined to name - had developed an alternative based around Bahamian workers gaining the necessary experience and qualifications by working abroad.

“I found when I was the head of human resources for a major regional bank that Bahamians are very reluctant to move overseas, and that is how you really get expertise; not just by understudying someone,” he told Tribune Business. “We need to go forth into the world to learn. That’s how a lot of expatriates who are here got their expertise, and Bahamians are reluctant to do that.

“We’ve put together a proposal where the understudy needs to go to other countries to gain experience. It took me years and years to get the experience I did when I headed up human resources for the region. You’re going to give me someone in three years’ time who has my experience? It’s not going to work.

“We’re going to propose a plan to get Bahamians to go overseas and gain that type of experience, and then come back and take over. That’s the gist of it. It’s much deeper than that. But you can’t just learn from somebody; you have to experience that yourself, and you can’t get that by staying home”

Mr Goudie added that Mr Pinder’s proposal seemingly did not account for “a whole lot of factors that need consideration”. He queried whether businesses would be penalised if they were unable to identify an understudy, or if the person nominated suddenly left to join another company, thereby forcing the employer to begin the process all over again.

The Chamber’s labour specialist also questioned how many work permits would be affected, given that the majority of those issues are for domestic workers and gardeners - work Bahamians typically consider to be beneath them or too low-paid.

And he pointed out that the pool of available, qualified Bahamian labour was being further shrunk by a “brain drain” that saw 61 percent of college-educated students remain abroad after graduating because the job opportunities were much broader.

Acknowledging that Mr Pinder’s remarks could cause businesses to pull back further on investment due to uncertainty over whether they will be able to recruit essential expatriate labour, Mr Goudie also agreed that the proposed policy effectively crosses the line to the point that the Government is effectively dictating private sector hiring practices.

“I would agree that it’s putting undue pressure on the business community at a time when we’re trying to create more employment. I don’t think this is the way to do it,” he told Tribune Business. “We’re losing jobs in the financial industry, and now you want to put pressure on. What? To lose more jobs.

“That’s what John is saying. If you don’t do what we say, you’re going to lose work permits. When John says that he needs to come and have dialogue with us. How can you start telling people how to run their business when you haven’t talked to us. All we’re asking is: Come and talk to us.”

Tribune Business was unable to reach Mr Foulkes for comment.