Fellow Anguillians,
As Labour Minister, it is my obligation to speak with you and update you on existing labour circumstances in Anguilla. As you are well aware, Anguilla has been rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Homeowners, business owners, owners of apartments, villas and hotels have all been working hard to rebuild their properties before the official start of the Hurricane season which starts on 1st June.
You will recall that immediately after the storm, the Labour Department visited business premises from East to West to understand the extent of damage and resulting job loss. We were able to establish that approximately 2,000 people were unemployed as a result of the storm. We worked with the Social Security Board to quickly establish a temporary unemployment benefit programme in November 2017 for those employees that were impacted. The end date for the programme was extended from March 2018 to May 31st 2018.
In the interim, a lot of hard work has been done to date and the construction and renovation work continues so that businesses across the island, and in particular the tourist sector, can re-open for the 2018 tourist season. I would like to take this opportunity to commend both the business sector as well as individual homeowners, in going through great effort to accomplish this, even in the absence of settlement of insurance claims in many instances.
Along with the rebuilding efforts, we at the Labour Ministry have noticed an uptick in the requests for work permits for persons to come into Anguilla to work, mainly in the construction sector. A number of local business owners have requested and continue to request specialty workers, mainly from the Caribbean. And a number of local contractors are requesting workers, again mainly from the Caribbean.
Belmond Cap Juluca closed in August 2017 for extensive renovations. When Dck International, the main contractor on the Property, came to the Ministry of Labour to advise that they would need to bring in workers to complete by the project by Mid-November, a number of matters were discussed:
(1) That as a result of the slow economy, many workers in the construction industry were not employed and the first call would have to be on the construction contractors and workers residing in Anguilla;
(2) That the main contractor would operate in good faith to ensure that local workers would be employed; and
(3) For workers that would ultimately have to be brought in, that living accommodations would have to be satisfactory to the Ministry and Department of Labour for the workers.
As a result of these discussions the following took place:
(1) Notices went out to the general public on 28th February and 8th March 2018 advising that Dck International was looking to hire a quantity surveyor locally;
(2) Notices went out to the general public on 13th February, 14th February and 16th February 2018 advising that Dck International was looking for carpenters, masons, electricians, and general laborers to renovate the resort, along with the contact phone numbers.
(3) On 14th March 2018, notice went out advising that Dck was having a job fair on 17th March 2018 from 10am to 12noon at Cap Juluca. The trades needed were: masons, carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers and laborers.
(4) On 5th April 2018, a Notice went out to the general public that the Ministry of Labour was establishing a Job Seekers Register and encouraged all persons who were unemployed to come in and register their names at the Department of Labour.
(5) We specifically stated that a special appeal was being made particularly to persons in the construction sector who are unemployed but seeking employment as labourers, tilers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, HVAC technicians, roofers, painters, landscapers etc, to come in and register their names.
This request was not only for Cap Juluca, but for all of the other construction projects that had started across the island, whether new construction or redevelopment.
(6) Mrs. Evalie Bradley and I attended two (2) talk show programmes over the last few weeks, to speak on the issues surrounding labour generally and to specifically promote the Job Seekers Register. The approach was that the name of the workers who registered their names would be submitted to Dck International and other local contractors looking to hire persons, for consideration.
I should say that as at the date of airing this message, only a total of 20 people registered on the Job Seekers Register, with only 4 out of the 20 were in the construction industry.
The information received from Dck International is that there are currently 14 local contractors directly related to the construction field on site, and each of these contractors have their team of workers (however, this does not include sub sub-contractors). Dck International itself has approximately 240 local employees on site and reports are that they are still taking on workers. Every effort (radio, social media, newspaper and general advertising) has been made by the Ministry of Labour to ensure that belongers are employed at the Cap Juluca property.
The reality is, that as a result of the storm, a lot of construction work is taking place on Anguilla, especially as a new hurricane season is upon us. We are seeing a need for workers to be brought in across the island to meet deadlines so that the various businesses can re-open as soon as possible. Since September 2017 we have processed a number of requests from a wide range of local businesses (from grocery stores to business offices to high end Villa properties) to bring in persons on a short term basis to perform specialty work. Many of these persons have already come in, completed the work, and left the island. In short, there is much work to be done in this country and much of it must be done now, not a year or two years from now.
There must be a balancing act between ensuring that all of our construction workers are fully employed and receiving a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work on the one hand, and getting these businesses and developments completed so that they can re-hire staff and open on time on the other hand. We must not forget, that while we are glad to have our construction workers working, our women (the primary caregivers in most households) who were working in the hotel industry are home and anxiously awaiting that call to go back to work. Cap Juluca alone has approximately 210 employees who were laid off and 60% of them are women. Once completed, the Resort is expected to hire an additional 140 employees, bringing it to a total of about 350 employees.
Anguillians are a proud people. Our women are no different, and they are not accustomed to surviving on handouts. While the Government has sought to ease some of the financial burden by putting in place the unemployment benefit program, our people, and most especially our women, are ready to get back to work so that they can once again fully provide for their families.
Belmond Cap Juluca already has bookings slated for November 2018, as well as tentative new bookings which are awaiting the completion of the Villas. Dck International has advised that to have the project re-opened by November 2018, they will have to bring in approximately 70 workers, from countries such as Jamaica, Venezuela, Equador, Columbia, and Brazil, to work in different areas of the project. The first work permit applications for some of these persons were submitted last week with full documentation. All workers must go through full due diligence procedures as normal.
Dck International has already entered into a rental accommodation agreement for these workers to be housed at Royal Caribbean Resort which is located at Little Harbour, and the Department of Labour has conducted an inspection in order to ensure that the living accommodations are appropriate. These workers will be working alongside the Anguillian workers, and in the event that the particular skill or trade is not common in Anguilla, are expected to share their knowledge with the Anguillian workers.
The Ministry and Department of Labour will continue to ensure that belongers receive first preference, as is our standard policy. We will continue to remain engaged on the various projects in order to ensure that we keep our finger on the pulse of the work force here in Anguilla
Again, we encourage our local Anguillians and residents to continue to register with the Job Seeker’s Register at the Labour Department, as you will assist us in better serving you, the people of our beloved Anguilla.
Thank you, and God Bless you. God Bless Anguilla.
18 May, 2018
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
