Oh yes I forgot to mention, landscapers are in the ‘Restricted Category’ as such persons can be hired from overseas. But again, what would I know as an employer who owns and runs a landscaping company, who has a few staff members from overseas and seeing as the paperwork from the dept of immigration confirms it.

But seeing as I’m writing under an alias and according to you it definitely can’t be factual so what would I know. Of course your experience and opinion which is likely that of someone who doesn’t own a business and has no idea what they are talking about clearly trumps mine.

My statement was:

“Whether a worker’s certificate is real or not, the attitude towards work counts the most. You can also clearly see what a person can do sans certificate via work ethics and productivity.”

As you can see, I used the general word workers – sans nationality.

In this world of business, how you do your job defines who you are and not your job or race.

A nanny who dedicates her working time to her employer and does her best, is comparable to an account who spends the night reconciling.

If education is free in the Philippines or if the government has some type of educational support towards its people like how Bermuda does, a lot more Filipinos will be holding jobs from top to bottom just like Bermudians and other citizens.

We are all the same, its just a matter of perspective.

Right now you have politicians who are disillusioned and just enjoying the prestige and pay along with immigration workers who are interested in a paycheck and looking good at work.

Ever see how they dress?

They’d never catch me on a job site if I was working illegally in their high heel shoes and fancy clothes.

In the absence of PTA mtgs , doctors visits etc. more time can he spent at work in theory.

For the classes of occupations that the MP is specifically referring to, there are the vast majority who are ‘sans la familia’

If you had read the employment act you would know that you should be writing the local worker up for sleeping on the job. Three right ups and you have the right to fire them. Although I would suggest that you take a few grammar classes before doing so in order not look as ignorant as you are. Your prejudice statement actually proves Diallo’s point.

I know an employer who has a permit worker hired under the open permit of accountant and has them working under the closed position of salesperson and shop clerk. This employer is breaking the law. Further more they have them under a permit apply through their one business and have them working in shifts for their other business as well. For this they are committing another criminal act.

No you didn’t say that but you didn’t mention the other side of the coin either, I just pointed it out.

I agree that Immigration should have or follow procedures and if they don’t exist then implement them. I put the respondents full name, address, & all contact information on reply’s to the dept. Do they follow up with the individuals???? I doubt it. But they should.

Cheap indentured labor has nothing to do with work ethics and productivity. This is just a way of belittling yourself while belittling the local population.

The real question is why did Ewart allow his party member hook up their non Bermudian friends and family while Bermudians continued to lose their jobs to them. Just goes to show that the Doc really wasn’t about helping his fellow Bermudians and still isn’t or he would have came clean by now.

Either way this is beside the point since we only have 4 official refugees in Bermuda and they are not them. Governments are supposed to look after the well being of their citizens above all else. A secure society is a happy and productive society. Not looking after your own breeds animosity and chaos which is what we’ve experienced for the last 19 years. Both parties choose to misdirect it so to lay blame elsewhere while both have had the opportunity to fix it but instead focus on their own agendas while it has festered.

Your statement sounds like you have verified this information and have first-hand knowledge of false certificate holders. Why not report them, so we can make use of your “SMART comment”.

Whether a worker’s certificate is real or not, the attitude towards work counts the most. You can also clearly see what a person can do sans certificate via work ethics and productivity.

You have mentioned, “many jobs in Bermuda are excessively filled by Filipinos”, have you ever thought that this number is proportion to the number of employers who I believe are SMART enough to hire capable workers.

I would like to kindly tweak your statement “many jobs in Bermuda are satisfactorily filled by many Filipinos”.

Mabuhay,

I had an employer call me about a reference that I was supposed to have given to an former employee. Funny thing is I had fired the employee about two years previously and had never given him a reference.

I had given him a letter for the purposes of opening a bank account telling them that he was an employee of my company. He had someone copy and change it saying he was a model employee and had worked for me for four years. Well he wasn’t a model employee, which is why he was let go and only lasted a few months.

On top of it he recently called me (last week) asking for work and also asked me to give him a good reference to a potential employer who was supposed to call me the next day. You gotta shake your head at that one right???? lol

Does that also apply to individual’s who make a statement under a false name such as yourself who support Mr. Rabains comments or is that only for those individuals who disagree like Doggystyle???

Right on all points. Especially the put up or shut up comment!!!!!!!

Factual data would be something collected by the government directly from citizens applying for jobs. They do this in North America but not here.

In 2009, national certification was introduced for Electricians, Motor Mechanics and Welders. In 2014 the OBA added Landscape Gardeners. The certification was developed by persons within these various fields considered “experts” and Industry partners. This was done so when the final qualification was developed, it was exactly what employers in Bermuda were looking for. This also allowed the then Labour and Training Department to develop training programs and apprentice schemes with the ability to be Nationally Certified as the final goal. The legislation also allowed for this requirement to be bypassed if (a) the Bermudian worker was in a legitimate training program with an employer that was leading to certification (b) an applicant for a work permit already possesses a certification that was equivalent to the required certification. Other than that, there was a requirement for any permit approved, the recipient was required to be Nationally Certified within a month of arriving.

Within my questions to the Minister, I specifically asked how many work permit were issued in these fields since 2013 and how many permits holders have either attained National Certification or presented a certification to allow them to be exempt. The answer to that question was NONE. So based on that reply, by the laws we currently have in place, all of these 217 permits issued in these fields are essentially working illegally. The fault here lies on the employers and the Government. There is no way a permit should be allowed to be issued, if this legal requirement has not been satisfied.

Some have asked how does this policy protect Bermudian jobs or why isn’t this a barrier to anyone breaking into the field. First of all, it protects jobs because if there is a certification, this protects the salary of the position to a degree. It is very difficult to get a person qualified to a professional level, to take basically apprentice type of pay. This helps the local worker because now there is standard to work towards and the knowledge that there will be a more level playing field when competing with a permit worker. Secondly, this encourages employers to develop decent training programs in conjunction with the National Training Board which will lead to a certification. The Training program is hammered out with a proper apprentice contract and in most cases is (was) subsidized by the NTB. These contracts would contain all the necessary things needed by both employee and employer to ensure the employee reached certification at the end of the contract. Requirements for community services, schooling, etc were all part of the contract.

Also, there is a scheme in place (since the mid 2000s) that allows for an employer to file their training program with NTB and the Tax Commissioner and not have to pay payroll tax for any trainee employee. Unlike the OBA now expired scheme of payroll tax exemption for new hires, the training route doesn’t charge the employee payroll tax either.

All of these things are put in place to protect and promote the hiring of Bermudians. Despite these things in place, employers still go out these way to obtain work permit and it is mostly based on bottom line as currently is ti far cheaper to hire a permit worker than a Bermudian based on current laws. We have a ways to go to level the playing field completely and rest assured I will champion for that until it happens.

Diallo V. S. Rabain, JP, MP

This is a real problem in Bermuda and more so ensuring JOBS for Bermudians. .

Keep speaking

If you see a void and opportunity take advantage of it. If there are hundreds of reliable men and women that are seeking employment as landscapers HIRE THEM, make lots of money, grow your company and become an example to employers and employees.

I registered as an employer at the job fair and hired three Bermudians. All three were very nice and eager. The first two lasted less than two weeks because they “found something better” and the other just stopped showing up shortly thereafter. Do I blame them, no of course not. I wish I didn’t have to work in the hot sun all day. However, what I need in my business is responsible and reliable and honest people. I don’t want to be hiring people and having them quit before their insurance card comes in the mail.

Rabian, put up 0 or shut up. I don’t need no politician telling me how it is and how it should be.