Gov’t ‘not just dictating’ over work permit policy

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Chamber of Commerce’s labour division chair has hailed that the Government is “not just dictating” over plans to develop a national policy to govern the issuance of work permits in The Bahamas.

Peter Goudie, also a member of the National Tripartite Council, the body former to tackle all labour-related issues in The Bahamas, told Tribune Business that the Government appears open to a genuine dialogue with the private sector, trade unions and other stakeholders on the issue instead of simply saying ‘this is what will happen’.

“I think it’s great we’re having this dialogue, and it’s not just the Government dictating,” he said. “That’s all we’ve ever had. Government says, and on the follow through do whatever. Now we’ve got a conversation opened up, and I think it’s great, I really do, that we’re having a conversation as opposed to being told: ‘This is how it is’ whether we like it or not.”

Mr Goudie spoke after Keith Bell, minister of labour and Immigration, said at Friday’s annual general assembly meeting of the National Tripartite Council that the Government plans to host a roundtable discussion to formulate a national policy on the issuance of work permits win The Bahamas.

While no specific date was provided, Mr Bell said talks are expected to be held between the months of July and August 2023. The Government grants around 15,000 work permits annually, out of around 30,000 applications, of which the majority are usually for posts such as maids, gardeners, labourers and landscapers.

The minister also called for increased productivity by the Bahamian workforce, suggesting that weaknesses in this area have contributed to the number of work permits approved by the Government every year. Mr Bell called for “specific and concrete recommendations” be given for increasing productivity within the Bahamian labour force.

“Although it is not on the agenda, I am seeking your specific and concrete recommendations on increasing productivity in the workplace,” said Mr Bell. “It is something that we cannot legislate but we have to ensure that the increase in minimum wage corresponds with an increase in productivity in the workplace, especially as we move towards a livable wage.

“This is a special concern to me as the minister of labour and Immigration, and part of the reason, in some respect, why we have to issue so much work permits in this country every year. This is a matter that must be addressed sooner rather than later.”

The Bahamian private sector has long voiced concerns over what it sees as relatively low overall productivity by the workforce, and has been especially vexed at the quality - or lack thereof - of potential employees coming out of the public high school system.

Frequently voiced complaints are that many employee candidates lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, and even rudimentary socialisation that will enable them to get along with both colleagues and customers to deliver the required level of service.

Increased worker productivity, so the theory of “supply-side economics goes”, will increase output and help lower a firm’s unit costs of production, thereby making Bahamian companies more price competitive on the goods and services they sell.

A previous National Tripartite Council “white paper” outlining the rationale for Bahamian productivity legislation argues that it will ultimately boost worker incomes and living standards, while generating private sector and economic growth that leads to a more sustainable economy.

“The implementation of a productivity legislation in The Bahamas is likely to lead to highly-skilled employees who are competitive both at the regional and the global level,” the “white paper” said. “Therefore, the employees will be able to ask for higher salaries given their experience and professional mastery.

“The higher salaries will increase the disposable income available to the employees, improving their access to better medical care and enabling them to contribute towards their retirement. Additionally, the employees can choose to invest their excess income in revenue-generating projects, hence further boosting their standards of living.

“The consumers’ standards of living are likely to improve due to better employee productivity, since companies will be able to operate more efficiently, passing the benefits of lower costs of production to the consumers.”

Acknowledging that low labour productivity was “one of the major concerns of businesses in The Bahamas”, the “white paper” added: “Implementing the productivity legislation will lead to high levels of productivity in the country to the benefit of the private sector. Private companies will be able to produce more efficiently, hence lower the costs of production, and report higher profit margins.

“This is possible when you consider that a highly-skilled workforce is related to a low employee turnover in firms. The increased profit margins can be ploughed back into the business, thus contributing significantly to a thriving private sector......

“Furthermore, skilled employees are also likely to improve corporate governance, thereby leading to an accountable and transparent corporate leadership which instills trust in the private sector.”

Comments

Flyingfish says...

One way productivity can be increased is by introducing better e-commerce solutions. For example when the government launched its "MyGateway" website it vastly improved the efficiency of procuring government issued documents.

Perhaps if their is a push to digitize commerce in this country in the applicable field we can see a boast. Either by increasing the availability online transactions, services, and sales or by constructing jobs that can be worked from remote locations and online.

This is only one of many methods to increase productivity, which can range from better pay to better options for commute.

Posted 27 March 2023, 2:25 p.m. Suggest removal

LastManStanding says...

Bahamians, generally speaking, are too tech illiterate for ecommerce solutions to become big in this country. Trying to get something as simple as a document properly scanned and emailed is a hair pulling exercise with a lot of people here.

Posted 27 March 2023, 3:37 p.m. Suggest removal

ohdrap4 says...

LoL. Many can never print PDF.

Posted 27 March 2023, 8:43 p.m. Suggest removal

SP says...

This is a complex multifaceted conversation!

Last week we had a government official alarmed at the rate of funds being repatriated. Now we have Mr. Bell talking about Bahamian's need to increase productivity.

Looking holistically at labor, wages, productivity, and high levels of repatriated funds, it is undeniable that the problems we face are all self-inflicted by the powers that be.

A case in point is the domestic job market which has been totally overrun by Asians and Latinos, all from economically underdeveloped, depressed, 3rd world countries. People from these regions are eager and willing **to do anything** for below minimum wage in hard currencies because in most cases they are the lifeline providing basic daily necessities to families in their home countries.

This category of individuals has created a "false wage scale" vs "productivity" in the Bahamas. Their wages are mostly repatriated to their home countries and they do not participate in "spending" in the local economy. This is the main reason that caused the proliferation of money transfer operators and commercial banks to drastically scale down retail operations in Nassau.

It is unreasonable, unrealistic, and downright stupid to expect Bahamians that actually "spend" in the local economy, living in the 6th most expensive country in the world to work for wages or produce comparable to individuals that do not "spend" in the local economy.

The problems we face with productivity will persist until we get rid of Asians, Latinos, and others that created and support this "false wage scale".

The government perpetuated the myth that low-wage labor is available in the Bahamas by issuing work permits to Asians, Latinos, etc. It is unreasonable to expect Bahamians, Americans, Canadians, or anyone else from any economically solid country to produce or accept working multiple job descriptions for minimum wages like people from poor countries.

How the hell can anyone expect to find low-wage employees in the 6th most expensive country in the world?

Posted 27 March 2023, 6:41 p.m. Suggest removal

Emilio26 says...

Don't forget that the Haitians are also the largest group of low skilled immigrant workers that send a lot of money back home to Haiti.

Posted 28 March 2023, 9:33 a.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

"*The higher salaries will increase the disposable income available to the employees, improving their access to better medical care and enabling them to contribute towards their retirement. Additionally, the employees can choose to invest their excess income in revenue-generating projects, hence further boosting their standards of living.*"

What kind of Stepford Wives propaganda is this? Wrho wrote this paper? They clearly dont live in the Bahamas. Where as soon as your income increases the govt suddenly finds a new source of revenue. Look how much money they have, they dont need all of that.

The surest route to increasing productivity is by example. When you show how you made parliament more productive with MPs actually doing what they're hired to do and learning skills to be effective, then you could tell us the secrets. Word to the wise, above food and shelter minimums, money is the worst motivator

Posted 28 March 2023, 12:53 a.m. Suggest removal

killemwitdakno says...

Grant work permits to deploy back to Haiti.

Posted 28 March 2023, 2:27 a.m. Suggest removal

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