Chamber supports efforts to crack down on work permit abuses

HAMILTON (CMC)

The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce said it is “fully supportive” of the moves by the government to crack down on work permit abuses even as it acknowledged that the immigration department must also speed up its services.

“As we all know, Bermuda’s labour market is already under considerable pressure. I spoke with senior government officials who are indicating that unemployment in Bermuda is under two per cent, nearly all available workers are already employed, and talent is in short supply across the local, international business and government sectors.

“Even the Department of Immigration is likely experiencing staffing constraints, which can impact processing times,” Chamber president, Marico Thomas, told Royal Gazette newspaper.

Earlier this week, Economy and Labour Minister Jason Hayward announced a zero-tolerance approach to violations of the work permit rules. He said that existing regulations, such as stiff penalties for organisations that submit late work permit applications and the refusal of appeals submitted late, would be rigorously enforced.

Hayward said the average turnaround time for processing a complete application was “deemed” to be 20 working days, but was “usually closer to 30 working days” and that the procedure was consistently reviewed to improve efficiency.

He said employers were well aware of their obligations under the 2017 Work Permit Policy and “yet, too many continue to submit late applications and allow individuals to work unlawfully.

“This is not acceptable. A zero-tolerance policy is now in effect, and penalties will be applied without exception,” Hayward told a news conference, adding that the department was working to digitise its services with the help of a “preferred vendor”.

The 2023 Labour Force Survey Report showed that unemployment stood at 2.8 per cent in Bermuda. However, it also reported that the island’s youth unemployment rate, measured in the 16-to-24 age bracket, was 13.5 per cent.

Shadow Minister for Economy and Labour Vance Campbell said the policies outlined by Hayward were not new, criticising the government for not providing the statistics that support the need for a crackdown on work permit policy violations.

“The only information offered was that more time was being spent in their weekly meetings dealing with this topic. Could it be that the data do not indicate a major issue,” Campbell said, questioning whether the zero-tolerance approach to breaches also applied to the Department of Immigration.

Meanwhile, the Chamber has released a list of its recommendations that include streamlining the work permit process, implementing a more efficient, transparent digital application platform, providing real-time status updates to employers and, where appropriate, workers, especially when third parties are involved, as well as reducing the time between permit approval and arrival, enabling new employees to contribute to the economy more quickly

It is also recommending reassessing restricted job categories with a view to reopening those where chronic labour shortages are impacting business operations as well as protecting workers acting in good faith and ensuring policies do not disproportionately penalise guest workers for errors made by employers or agents

It is also calling for guest workers to be provided with accessible recourse and guidance to protect their rights and clarify their responsibilities.