The next time expatriate bashers in the Cayman Islands start
talking about the need for Cayman to get rid of its foreign workforce maybe
they should take a good hard look at the Immigration Department.
We’re not talking about watching the people coming in and
out the doors; we’re talking about the amount of money that department is
raking in to government coffers.
In these days of budget woes, accountability problems and a
general tightening of the economy the Immigration Department is one government
agency pulling its financial load.
The latest revenue figure for the government’s budget is
$548 million. At the rate the Immigration Department is going, its collections
will account for more than $72 million this year – about 13 percent of central
government’s projected revenues.
That’s a lot of moolah.
Most of the money generated by the Immigration Department
comes from the issuance of a variety of permits to non-Caymanians seeking the
right to work and live here.
And the department is able to make this large chunk of
change despite the fact that the number of work permits has dropped by more
than 20 per cent in less than three years. One of the ways Premier McKeeva Bush
plans to boost the Cayman Islands economy is to bring in more investment, which
means more businesses and more people.
As much as some people would like the Cayman Islands to
return to simpler times, too much work has gone into bringing the Cayman
Islands to the level it is as a desired place to live, work and visit.
Yes, qualified Caymanians should have jobs that are filled
with expat workers, but until we get a grip on our education system and begin
growing our own people to fill those positions, and until Caymanians are
willing to work as cashiers and pump gasoline we are going to have to depend on
foreign workers to do those jobs. And we’re going to have to continue depending
on the Immigration Department to fill our coffers.
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Editorial Writer, Editor or whomever is the author of the above letter;
First of all, if the government is going to take the route of investment, then it should mean investment in the private sector and the government coffers. There’s no free lunch.
Secondly, there are many educated Caymanians with good work references that are being denied jobs because of work permit holders working in those positions for less.
The blame is not to be placed on x-pats but the finger is pointed directly at government that has a dead beat system of oppressing their own people in exchange for the almighty dollar.
As far as unskilled workers whether x-pat or Caymanian well, obviously they are the candidates to fill positions working as attendants pumbing gas at local gas stations etc. But what is really causing the divide and the revolution in the Cayman Islands is the educated, experienced, skilled, Caymanians with education and expertise that are being denied by x-pat business owners and unscrupulous Caymanian money hogs who will deny employment to their own Caymanians so they can continue to violate the rights of x-pats. Yes withholding payment of pension funds, and underpaid workers, overworked workers, etc.
I take my hat off to Caymanians who refuse to be bullied and enslaved and abused by x-pat employers and Cayman employers., You got to respect them for their stand.Taking all of the above into consideration does not make the x-pat worker any more valuable than the Caymanian. You are misinterpreting the entire situation facing the Caymanian people.
The fault is the unfair work permit wheeling and dealing by the government that is hurting the people.
X-pats and Caymanians need to try to get along until we elect a government that can sort out this mess instead of adding to the problem.
We need to elect individuals that have the education and experience to draft financial projections for government that does not call for millions of dollars in work permit fees. There are many very nice x-pats in this country that is a part of our society that are contributing much to the community, but there are some that are just kicking the ball of division around that is not contributing to a peaceful society. So until we can vote someone in office to lead as premier that is not a money hungry shark, lets try to keep some peace.
until we get a grip on our education system and begin growing our own people to fill those positions…
I do not want to join the ex-pat bashing conga line. I am not sure that the situation is quite so black-and-white though. That is a pretty broad brush you have painted with there.