Concerns raised over foreign work permits for low-skilled jobs ‘amid local unemployment’

An opposition senator has raised fresh concerns about the country’s labour market management, questioning why employers are seeking foreign workers for low-skilled roles while qualified Barbadians remain out of work.

Appearing in a joint select committee meeting on the new citizenship and immigration bills, Senator Walters expressed deep concern over the apparent misalignment between local economic needs and current immigration practices.

He revealed that advertisements for basic roles are frequently appearing in the newspapers, raising doubts about whether the domestic labour market is being fully utilised.

“Only yesterday I saw the local newspaper applications for work permits for a warehouse assistant, a sales associate, and a shop supervisor. When we speak about skills deficits and opportunities generally for employment, how are we managing our current system even before we introduce a system where we are actually bringing fresh labour in?”

The senator argued that if the domestic economy and training institutions cannot produce individuals capable of filling entry-level positions, it points to a systemic failure.

“Those are skills that clearly, if we cannot fill those jobs, something is wrong with our education system, our economy, everything.”

The select committee meeting, which centred on productivity, labour shortages and population stagnation, focused heavily on how the proposed legislation will employ a points-based system to manage immigration.

Senator Walters pressed for stricter alignment between the upcoming legislation and the Barbados Population Policy. He urged the government to provide more comprehensive data regarding actual labour shortages to ensure prudent decision-making.

While acknowledging that certain specialised sectors, such as advanced manufacturing and robotics, genuinely suffer from a deficit of expertise, executive chairman of the Barbados Employment Confederation, Shenna Mayers-Granville, maintained that everyday positions must be reserved for citizens.

“You mentioned warehouse clerk, and one would think those are skills that can be found on the island. But what about someone who specialises in robotics? That skill may not be something that is readily found,” she observed, contrasting the two tiers of labour.

The senator’s concerns found strong cross-party resonance within the committee. Committee chairman Dwight Sutherland agreed that domestic options must be thoroughly exhausted before looking regionally or internationally, asserting that “Barbadians have a right to employment in this country”. 

Despite the implementation of a landmark full free movement agreement between four CARICOM nations, businesses here have yet to see a significant impact on the island’s ongoing skills deficit, a prominent private sector representative has revealed.

Employers have not reported any dramatic shifts in the labour market since the initiative took effect last October, Mayers-Granville said. 

The agreement, which facilitates the unrestricted movement of citizens among Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, was expected to provide a wider regional talent pool to address local labour shortages.

“Members have not reported any dramatic change in the labour market arising from that recent change,” Mayers-Granville told the committee. “I’ve not heard of any major changes to our ability to have skills available to employers coming out of that.”

Chief Immigration Officer Margaret Inniss defended the department’s due diligence procedures. She assured the committee that officials robustly vet applications to protect the local workforce.

“If you submit an application and you are denying a Barbadian or CARICOM person, we will ask to see the applications and the rationale for denying the person,” Andis explained. “We will also ask to see that person’s experience and qualifications so that we know when a decision is taken, it is a decision where we have examined all of the criteria.”

Inniss also provided updated figures on regional migration, revealing that between October 1 and the end of May, approximately 1 696 individuals entered Barbados from three member states under the full free movement agreement.

Of those, just over 700 have registered with the Ministry of Labour, indicating that roughly half intend to utilise their skills in the local market.

Despite these figures, Senator Walters noted that private sector employers have not yet reported “any dramatic change in the labour market” arising from the regional pact.

To rectify the gaps in data and prevent the displacement of local workers, Senator Walters emphasised the need for an integrated Labour Market Information System.

He highlighted the fact that over 70 per cent of businesses in Barbados are micro and small enterprises, which lack the capacity to forecast their long-term skills requirements.

“Having the data on what skills or anticipated skills that we need in the next ten to 15 years to grow our economy would be critical,” Senator Walters said. “It would then feed into bills such as this, where you are looking at a points system based on skill, allowing for better coherence between the needs of Barbados and the population.”

(RR)