The Tribune

• Acting BCA chief: ‘The system is broken’

• Hits out at failings over knowledge transfer

• Admits that Association is ‘house divided’

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) interim president yesterday urged the Government to “save the 40 percent that’s left for locals” by finally enacting self-regulation and “fixing a broken” work permit renewal system.

Leonard Sands, who is holding the post until a new incumbent is elected on April 8, told Tribune Business that he and fellow Bahamian contractors are “scrapping” and “fighting” for a minority share of construction work in this nation given the significant inroads made by foreign rivals and workers.

In particular, he voiced concern over foreign construction workers who - having been hired to train Bahamians to replace them - ended up obtaining a series of work permit renewals to the extent that they remained in this nation for between 10-20 years on such permits.

Suggesting that the required ‘knowledge transfer’ to Bahamians was not taking place, Mr Sands conceded that he was effectively walking a tightrope by going public with his concerns given that some of the BCA’s larger contractor members - who he did not name - were collectively responsible for “hundreds” of foreign construction personnel on work permits throughout “the length and breadth” of The Bahamas, especially on more remote Family Island cays.

Asserting that he was speaking up for small Bahamian contractors, and construction workers who are either unemployed or underemployed, he added that the Government - besides applying greater due diligence on work permit applications - should also finally enact the Construction Contractors Act as a means to prevent locals ‘fronting’ for firms that are actually foreign-owned.

Mr Sands, admitting he was unaware of how many construction-related work permits are active in The Bahamas, said anecdotal evidence such as newspaper job advertisements indicated there are many. “The greatest challenge is not the first work permit application; it’s the consistency of the renewals. Why should a person receive a work permit for three years and then five-six renewals for the same duration?

“Where’s that Bahamian they were supposed to train up? It’s the renewals. That’s the challenge. If you fix that by ensuring the knowledge transfer, you will not need that [work permit renewals] happening over and over. If you look at that one component and say it’s not happening, why are we continuing if they are not transferring their skills?”

Companies applying for work permits first have to advertise publicly the post in question, then satisfy the Department of Labour there is no Bahamian either qualified or available to perform the work. They are then granted a labour certificate which is presented to the Department of Immigration, together with all other relevant documents, to begin the work permit approval process.

There has long been resistance at the policy level to expatriates spending 10-20 years in The Bahamas on a rolling series of work permits, given the pressure to train-up Bahamian understudies to replace them - something that has only intensified post-COVID.

Mr Sands said the labour and Immigration departments occasionally consulted the BCA, on average twice a quarter, when large volumes of work permit applications were submitted, and he added: “I personally challenge the Department of Labour and Department of Immigration to defend every single application that they have approved that there is no Bahamian interested or desirous of filling these thousands of positions with respect to work permit holders.

“My challenge to every administration is when will Bahamians have first preference for jobs? I need someone from the Department of Labour to explain to me how a work permit holder can get a permit, with the obligation to train a Bahamian, and be here for 18-20 years? Where did they do their job to train Bahamians to replace them?

“I’m meeting contractors who came to this country since 1992, and are still on work permits. If they trained Bahamians, why are they here? Why are they allowed to be here? The system is broken.” Mr Sands, who gave no names, suggested greater manpower, due diligence and awareness by the labour and Immigration departments was required to address the matter.

The acting BCA president, though, conceded that he was in “a really, really tough spot” in raising the issue. “Within the membership of the BCA, we are a house divided,” he revealed. “On development projects throughout The Bahamas, some of the most significant members of the BCA are holders of hundreds of work permits. I’m standing behind the position that we must come clean with ourselves first.”

Mr Sands said he was speaking on behalf of small companies struggling to obtain sub-contracting work, and the “thousands of Bahamians sitting at home looking for a job”. He called on the Davis administration to enforce the Construction Contractors Act and appoint the Board to enforce it, arguing that the licensing and registration process overseen by the latter would help detect companies where Bahamians were ‘fronting’ for foreign contractor owners.

“We urge the Government, and plead with the Government, to see if they can save what is left of this industry for Bahamians,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business. “There’s very little left. We’re fighting for what’s left. To be honest, 40 percent is left. Sixty percent is driven from the outside. They have the financing, the resources and the connections, and we’re scrapping for the 40 percent that remains.

“We’re pretty much cannibalising each other, fighting among each other for scraps, but it could be fixed tomorrow. Let’s see how committed this new administration is to protecting and growing this industry for Bahamians. That’s our hope.”