Tinkering is not the answer to the expulsion policy

Friday, May 26, 2006

Having been promised a review of the Immigration Law, the fist hint of possible changes emerged at this week’s Cayman Islands Bankers Association Conference.

Sadly, though, it will do little to address the problems that are now fully evident throughout our community as a result of the Government’s insistence on maintaining the rollover policy.

At present after an individual holding a work-permit is expelled from the country having been used for seven years to sustain this country’s viability, they are not allowed to return on another work permit for two years.

This week however, David Ritch, Chairman of the Immigration Work Permit Board, told the Bankers conference that a reduction in that period was in the works, although he could not reveal the time period, which Government was considering.

In the past somewhere in the 80s a similar policy was in place for a period of six months and it did not work then.

However unless it is less than a month, it will be of little help to most people.

Once workers are expelled under the rollover policy unless they are particularly wealthy, they will still need to go elsewhere to seek out employment and therefore settle.

If they can secure a specific contract that matches the exact expulsion period the Government is now considering, and if they can find suitable accommodation for that exact same period as well, then perhaps it would be possible for them to return here, if of course their employer was willing to hold open their job.

This is a considerable amount of ‘ifs’ and likely to be the case for only a handful of people.

The rest of those forced to leave will take up residency elsewhere and re-settle and begin another life, unlikely to return here, and as we have noted on these pages on numerous occasions, give another jurisdiction the benefit of their talent and experience.

What a waste of our resources to train those who will be expelled only to attract another batch who will face the same tragedy of our revolving door of employees in 2013 and beyond.

Time and time again people in the business community cite recruitment issues as their biggest barrier to growth and development.

As noted by Conor O’Dea, a director with the Cayman Islands Bankers Association and Managing Director at Butterfield Bank, the Government is adding to those difficulties with the seven-year-rollover policy rather than helping business recruit and attract the necessary staff, be it in the tourist, banking or any other commercial sector.

Although we confess that we have raised this issue time and time again on these pages, we make no apologies for that because we are far from a lone voice when it comes to criticizing what is clearly a detrimental policy for the entire country.

Increasingly more and more people are speaking out against the rollover policy and while some still fear the loss of their own work permit or future refusals of those for their employees for speaking out, more and more people, Caymanian and ex-pats alike are indicating their disagreement.

Tinkering at the edges of this policy will not address the fundamental problem that this part of the Immigration Law causes.

It has an immeasurable negative impact on recruitment and retention for all businesses in this country, not just the offshore financial sector, but tourism and local domestic commerce as well.

It is absurd that a modern country such as ours, which is entirely knowledge-driven, and therefore dependent on quality employees, is directly handicapped by its own Government in terms of its future development.

The rollover policy is a clear case of economic policy.

With so few Caymanians available to fill the large number of diverse vacancies that are open at any given time on these Islands, the seven-year rollover policy has very little positive impact on the local workforce, but has a disproportionately negative impact on the business community.

Tweaking this policy, exemption by Cabinet or any other bend in this asinine rule, will not solve the problem.

As we have said on countless occasions the seven-year-roll-over is wrong and it should be abandoned. No amount of tinkering will make it ever work.

More to be said.

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