PLP leader Philip Davis. (File photo)
By SYANN THOMPSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
sthompson@tribunemedia.net
THE government's disappointment in the ratio of foreign workers to Bahamian labour at The Pointe is "laughable," according to Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip "Brave" Davis.
“The foreign workers in this country could only work in the country through the permission of the government," Mr Davis said at a press conference yesterday. "So the government must know that they are granting work permits to The Pointe. If 70 percent of the workers at The Pointe are foreigners, it meant that the government gave them those number of work permits to work at The Pointe.
"So where’s the disappointment, why the disappointment? It just shows a failure of this government to pay attention to what is going on, that they are not monitoring what is going on in the country and in the economy. If they were monitoring The Pointe, they would have been able to recognise the numbers.”
Earlier this month, Labour Director John Pinder told The Tribune there were 264 foreign labourers to 90 Bahamian workers at site. According to a Department of Labour inspection report at the construction site completed at the end of last year, there were 229 Chinese workers and only 90 Bahamians; 35 people of other nationalities were working on the site as well as two Bahamian companies.
His comments came days after The Tribune did a head count of foreigners leaving the Bay Street construction site, estimating more than 200 Chinese labourers walking from the area to their accommodations across the street.
In the Heads of Agreement between China Construction America (CCA), The Pointe's developer, and the government, it states that 70 percent of the workers must be Bahamian, while 30 percent should be foreign.
This week outside Cabinet, Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes said the government "is very disappointed" with the disproportionate ratio of Bahamians to foreign workers at Bay Street construction site and is currently in talks with its management to resolve the issue.
“We’ve been in talks with the management at The Pointe, their explanation is that they have some 22 Bahamian subcontractors working at The Pointe and they are including those numbers - the employees that work for those 22 subcontractors as part of the Bahamian component,” said Mr Foulkes.
He added: “We’re sitting down with them, we are talking to them we did a survey as early as last week and it something we are not pleased with. Their figures conflict with our figures and it is something that we are trying to work out. Given what we have seen, their argument is depending on when you come the Bahamian component is much higher, whether you come in the morning or in the evening."
Meanwhile, Mr Pinder previously told The Tribune that he has sent a team out every month to do a head count to see if Pointe officials are complying with the prescribed worker ratio.
The Ministry of Labour was told back in 2018 by Pointe officials that more foreign workers were needed for the “superstructure” phase of the construction, requiring specialised workers.
Comments
Sickened 4 years, 10 months ago
I agree with Davis - WHAT! I know right! After +40 of my life I can now say that Davis said something logical. THE RAPTURE IS COMING!!!!!
sealice 4 years, 10 months ago
so this is just like the insurance at Bamsi - once again someone didn't do their job and all of a sudden there's more finger pointing then actual work being done.....really need to get rid of 100% of both the FNM and PLP and just start over
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 10 months ago
Dion Foulkes and John Pinder have all along been providing cover for Red Chinese investors getting their way. Neither Foulkes nor Pinder could care less about whether qualified Bahamian workers are wrongfully left without jobs because of the desire by greedy Red Chinese investors to breach their contractual commitments made to government by importing cheap unqualified labourers from Red China and elsewhere who are then subjected to abusive labour practices that should not be tolerated in our country.
TigerB 4 years, 10 months ago
This was am issue from the place started building. I suppose it started building in May of 2017...hummm
bogart 4 years, 10 months ago
Wrong time Politicians at finishing stages to get all finishing construction works done. The finishing stage is a complex stage tying different works together to work together and in conjunction some or all parts. There are teams which have done previous stages familiar strengths, stress, works etcetc. Not recomended to now throw out teams and have have new teams take over and finish in months deadline successfully. Politicians should know construction hotel is like surgery where yuo cannot replace team and get surgery successfull. Finished hotel also has to coincide with marketing, guests, time of year timing etc. Right now hotel should have been underway training hundreds hotel staff etc. Politicing and posturing at this time is like too ,many cooks spoiling the food and having a new cook in the kitchen will not be able to find the pots muchless have food finished to serve. Posturing and stressing engineers technical staff looking over shoulders causes errors in workno matter if you are Bahsmian, Chinese, Egyptian.
The politicians should have decided with FDI CONTRACT, labour at the beginning. Labour force is a deciding factor and cost to feasibility of contract whether project happens or not. And labour employment must be clearcut decided at beginning.
licks2 4 years, 10 months ago
My my my. . .my people are again talking like they eeen gat no dang sense. . .the ratio of expat to Bahamian worker are contingent on the phase construction being done!! Further, the number of local subcontractor man power are factored into the expat/Bahamian ratio!!
Yall does forget quick. . .it was the PLP who made that agreement with Beijing. . .from phase one to finish!!! So if yinna want to stick yall heads into the sand to make a political point. . .go right ahead. . .just keep ya nonsense to yasef!! DAVIS TALKING NONSENSE. . .HE HAD NO PROBLEM WHEN THE PLP WAS COOKING UP AND SERVING THAT "DRUG DEAL-TYPE" AGREEMENT WITH THE CHINES. Yall can let him mosey along with his dumb nonsense. . .I WILL NOT!!
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