The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday hinted the authorities will soon target Bahamian employers who employ illegal migrants as he urged contractors to ensure their work permit holders comply with the law.

Keith Bell, minister of labour and Immigration, reiterated his previous warning for contractors and other employers to “get your house in order” over the hiring of expatriate labour when he spoke at the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) monthly meeting.

Revealing that the Department of Labour approved Bahamian construction companies to hire 102 expatriates for senior posts, and another 175 in skilled worker positions, over the past 12 months, he implored contractors to ensure these hires adhere to the terms and scope of their work permits.

“Contractors would be aware that they must take responsibility for their construction sites and all of the labour hired on their sites,” Mr Bell said. His comments came two weeks after his House of Assembly address, in which the minister said an Immigration raid on construction sites in an unnamed eastern New Providence gated community revealed that all 56 expatriate workers rounded-up were working outside the conditions specified in their work permits.

Persons brought in to The Bahamas as ‘farm labourers’ were found to be working as skilled construction tradespersons. Such a ruse, Mr Bell said, meant their employers or sponsors were paying a much lower work permit fee than was actually due to the Department of Immigration as ‘farm labourers’ attract a lower levy. He also disclosed that the Immigration Department has found expatriates working for a different employer than the one which sponsored their permit.

Acknowledging that such practices and “loopholes” have often been ignored in the past, Mr Bell said the Government will now begin to fully enforce the law. Noting that he has a “specific mandate to enforce our Immigration laws and policies”, the minister added: “This mandate required that many practices which have been historically ignored be enforced, and the many loopholes which have existed over decades be closed.

“Immigration has not necessarily been enforcing the law with any vigour, quite frankly, against employers and Bahamians who hire illegal immigrants. We have really been going after the illegal immigrants or the irregular migrants. We’ve been putting them before the court for the most part, and repatriating them and putting them on the stop list.

“But we’ve really not been going after the employers and the Bahamians who are doing this. But we’re going to have to get this thing right. And as I warned everybody, the laws have to be enforced. We have to continue to ensure that we protect our laws and that, as Bahamians, we are always on the right side of the law.”

Mr Bell said the Government will continue to grant work permits where firms are not able to find a suitably qualified Bahamian who is available and willing to do the job. He added: “A review of the records of the Department of Labour for the period April 2022 to April 202 confirms that 102 approvals were issued for non-Bahamians to fill vacancies in the construction industry at the senior operational levels.

“Additionally, 175 labour certificates were issued to employ non-Bahamians in non-managerial disciplines including air conditioning technicians, joinery technicians, skilled carpenters and marble tile layers. The Government of The Bahamas recognises that, from time to time, foreign labour is required to supplement local labour in order to complete construction projects.

“Our existing framework recognises this and allows for work permits to be issued on a short or long-term basis where an employer can demonstrate they have not been able to find a suitably-qualified Bahamian national for the job. This has been the policy of successive Bahamian governments, and for this administration it is a red line issue which will not be changed.”

Mr Bell said the Department of Immigration has approved more than 15,00 work permits over the past year, with many granted for farm labourer posts. “The Immigration Department issues in excess of 15,000 work permits per year in this country, the majority of which are for farm labourers,” he added.

“Farm labourers should not be on construction sites. Contractors know that a construction site is not a farm, and a building contractor is not a farmer. Persons who have been issued permits to work on farms, found working on construction sites, are liable for deportation.

“I believe it is important to specifically warn you, as contractors who employ persons on work permits, get your house in order. The law is clear on what is required. If you are unsure, you can call or visit the Department of Immigration or check the website.”

Mr Bell said that besides a valid work permit, expatriates must be employed at the company that applied and paid for the permit. They can only work within the duties stipulated by the permit.

“Under our laws it is not sufficient to say that the person ‘has a permit’. That is not what the law says. The person must have a valid work permit. The person must be employed for the person named on their work permit, and work being done by the person must be the same work as described in their permit,” Mr Bell said

“It is not sufficient for a worker on a site to produce a permit and say ‘they legal’. Where a person is found working independently, or for another person not named on the permit, the permit may be cancelled. Where persons are found working outside the job they obtained the permit for, the permit may be cancelled. However, in any event the correct fee must be paid.

“The construction industry is a significant economic driver, job creator and the industry which arguably has significant documented and improperly documented foreign labourers. Contractors would, or should, be aware that all persons in their employment must have legal status in The Bahamas which allows them to work for their employer.”