Government will use work permit funds for job training

Cayman to take ‘carrot and stick’ approach with companies

Cayman Islands lawmakers voted Monday to support significant changes to the country’s immigration system and, in doing so, redirect a portion of the fees used to support that regime.

The specifics of the plan have not been worked out.

A private members motion proposed by George Town MLA Winston Connolly recommends implementation of a long-proposed accreditation scheme for local businesses and seeks the segregation of 10 percent of existing work permit fees into a fund that would be used to help train Caymanian workers.

The crux of the accreditation system, Mr. Connolly said, would be the “carrot” approach for Cayman Islands-based businesses. The idea is to reward companies that develop local talent, train Caymanians, and provide scholarships, by way of swifter work permit approvals and premium immigration service. Companies that don’t play by the rules, fail to provide opportunities for Caymanian workers and don’t pay for workers’ pensions or healthcare will face denial of work permit and licensing approvals.

“We don’t have the personnel in immigration to police the businesses, nor should we do so myopically,” Mr. Connolly said. “The stick approach has not worked for the Cayman Islands.

“We can come up with a better way, a more transparent way, and one where Caymanian people can share in the success of these islands and they feel that they can subscribe fully to that Caymanian dream that their parents and grandparents had for them.”

As part of the accreditation system, the motion asks that government consider what it refers to as the Singapore work permit model, in which a portion of each work permit fee charged to the employer of a non-Caymanian would be placed in a segregated fund.

“The fund should be used solely for the training and up-skilling of locals in order to teach skills and retool workers,” the motion states. “Such [a] fund can also act as a workforce income supplement to replace social services for those able to work and [who are] actively looking for work and [are] willing to undergo such training.”

Another goal of the fund, according to the motion, is to “incentivize employers by supplementing salaries of locals training for employment.”

Bodden Town MLA Alva Suckoo, who seconded Mr. Connolly’s motion, said he views the accreditation plan as government being more forward-looking regarding local unemployment.

“We’re lacking representation for the labor itself, Caymanian labor,” Mr. Suckoo said. “We have no unions, and in the face of this, government is called upon to be more proactive.”

Finance Minister Marco Archer said siphoning 10 percent of work permit fees paid to the Cayman Islands government on a yearly basis would amount to $7.35 million taken from the general fund budget, a “significant amount by any standard.” The finance minister supported the proposal, but said measures would have to be put in place to ensure Cayman gets value for money out of any worker training programs the government funds.

Accrediting employers

The employer accreditation system, first proposed in 2008 by then-Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson, was created as an immigration management scheme, but it was never put into place.

Mr. Manderson, now Cayman’s deputy governor, said he still supports the original plan that established a tier system for local companies. Essentially, the better corporate citizen a company becomes, the higher its ranking in the tier system and the greater immigration privileges it would enjoy.

The deputy governor said the system was created after the Immigration Department noticed that, while it was keeping significant records on employees, it had very little information about local businesses.

“Employees do not take away jobs, employers give jobs,” Mr. Manderson said. “We had an employer [at the time] who was basically a revolving door for work permits. When we did the research, it was determined that the employer had no pension or health for their employees, had a track record of treating their employees poorly. It was obvious to us that we needed to do a better job of regulating the employers.

“Everyone, Caymanians and non-Caymanians, needs to be treated fairly. I really believe this can be the answer to so many of the problems we have now.”

Independent North Side MLA Ezzard Miller also supported the motion, although he noted that Cayman is apparently unable to enforce its immigration laws.

“The stick approach hasn’t worked, because the stick is not a stick,” he said. “It is a flexible little piece of garden hose that keeps bending in favor of the employer…”