Opposition senator demands work permit overhaul

Opposition Senator Ryan Walters has urged an overhaul of Barbados’ work permit system, arguing that employers are increasingly advertising vacancies that could be filled by Barbadians, particularly young people.

As the Protection of Wages Bill went before the Senate on Wednesday, the lawmaker cited recent work permit notices:

“What we are seeing coming out in the media space is the fact that employers seem to be looking outside for work that Barbadians can do and especially young Barbadians can do, and I’ve said it before; I’ll repeat again, we’ve seen in recent times posts for store supervisors, warehouse clerks, sales associates. In more recent times, I’ve seen a post for a device repair technician, which is a person who will repair cellphones. I’ve also seen on the higher scale posts for leadership in hotels. I think this is an opportunity for the government to look at revamping the work permit regime in this country.”

Senator Walters appealed to the government to tighten the work permit application process before applications are made.

“While there is a process that says you can apply and you may not be approved to get that person to come from outside of the country. I think it is a disgrace in 2026 that we should see this level of applications for work permits for these skill sets and these jobs.”

He added: “I think we need to revamp this work permit regime to tighten the application process, even before it becomes an application, to give direction to the employers on where there’s space for application and where there’s not.”

But Leader of Government Business Senator Lisa Cummins countered that work permit applications do not automatically translate into approvals:

“The work permits are assessed by a government department, and I’m sure that I have heard the former minister of home affairs under whose remit the immigration department sits, and the current minister of home affairs under whose remit the immigration department still sits, speak to the fact that whether there are 100 or 10 applications for work permits, that does not necessarily translate into approvals of work permits.”

She argued that it was misleading to suggest that work permits are preventing young Barbadians from getting jobs:

“It is erroneous to suggest that the government is stopping young people from getting jobs because of the presence of work permits, because there has been no, and perhaps there should be a statement made about how many work permits were actually approved, but that does not say that those jobs were granted as applied for.”

Turning to the National Insurance and Social Security Service, Senator Walters urged the government to crack down on employers who fail to register workers:

“Every employee does not pay the income tax, or they pay as you earn because it is based on their earnings, but every person that works should contribute to the National Insurance scheme. This is a call for the government to start to have greater enforcement with employers who are not registered with the National Insurance scheme. 

“It may look on the surface that a person might be carrying home a little more extra money because there’s not a deduction coming from their wages or their salaries but in the long run, when the dependency on the state to support them in any way, they have not contributed, and by default, they are excluded from those benefits and instead of going to the National Insurance scheme, they then have to go to the welfare department or lean on other services for support.”

The opposition senator also voiced concern over what he said was a backlog of about 3 000 outstanding cases before the Employment Rights Tribunal.

“It is not good when 3 000 or close to 3 000 persons have disputes that have not been heard … for many years. The government in 2024 promised that they would move the tribunal from a part-time to a full-time tribunal with full-time staff, office, etcetera. We are yet to hear about that becoming a reality and I hope that during this debate, that we can get an update on where we are with the where the government is with the Employee Rights Tribunal.” 

(LG)