Minister of Employment Alden McLaughlin has announced that the government will be looking at the possibility of introducing minimum wage legislation in the Cayman Islands. At a press briefing last week, he revealed that the government have employed a specialist labour consultant who will also be reviewing current overtime regulations.
Legislation giving Cabinet Ministers the power to determine which job professions qualify for key employee status came into effect yesterday. Foreign workers designated key employees can stay in the Cayman Island for nine years and apply for permanent residence. All others are subject to a maximum stay of 7 years.
Government ministries have been told they can only recruit foreign workers that are already working in the Cayman Islands in exceptional circumstances. The policy, which has been in existence for some time, was reiterated in a circular sent to government officers in January by Peter Gough, Deputy Head of the Civil Service. The circular stated that existing work permit holders can only be recruited after consultation with the Chief Immigration Officer and receipt of a letter of release from the current employer.
Government employees are currently exempt from the 7-year rollover policy. Many are seeing this move as an attempt to thwart any mass movement of work permit holders from the private to public sector.
Changes to the Immigration Law 2003 have been approved by the Legislative Assembly and received the Governor’s ascent. Amendments passed include the rollover policy that requires foreign workers to leave the Cayman Islands after seven years, unless they have been designated key employees by Cabinet Ministers. Key employees can stay up to nine years and apply for permanent residency.
Workers who have left the Cayman Islands due to the rollover policy are also prevented from returning and receiving a new work permit for a period of at least one year. Government employees are exempt from the rollover policy.
The Caymanian Compass reports that Works and Infrastructure Minister Arden McLean is pressing for a change to the rules for obtaining a driving licence that currently apply to expatriate workers. Currently, most workers can present a licence from their home country and obtain a Cayman licence without taking a driving test. There has been a big increase in the number of fraudulent licences presented by expatriate workers, particularly from Filipino citizens. Road traffic accidents have increased significantly this year.
The Cayman Islands Immigration Department has opened a new call centre. Members of the public can dial 949-8344 and using an automated system be directed to trained staff able to deal with matters such as work permits, permanent residence, visas etc.
Statistics released by the Economics and Statistics Office reveal that the Cayman Islands has an estimated population of 51,992 persons, of whom 31,549 are Caymanians. Figures are based on its Spring 2006 Labour Force Survey. Caymanians comprise 31,549 of the total.
The total labour force stands at 35,959, of which 943 are unemployed. Caymanians account for 18,303 working persons, or 50.9 per cent of the employed labour force.
Numbers by gender show an almost even split, with 26,652 females and 26,340 males resident.
34.1 percent of employed Caymanians earn a monthly salary of $3,333 or more. The corresponding figure for non-Caymanians is 20.3 percent.
The construction industry is biggest employer with 18.1 percent of the workforce.
The World Travel & Tourism Council has opposed the decision of the US Congress to delay the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative to land-based tourism and cruise line passengers, while keeping the January 8 2007 deadline for air passengers.
They estimate the Caribbean region could lose around US $2.6 billion and around 200,000 jobs as a result of the WHTI. Fewer than 30 percent of American citizens have current, valid passports.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts presented a number of proposed changes to the Immigration Law to the Legislative Assembly this week. These included reducing the period of time a person must leave the Cayman Islands before applying for a new work permit, following the expiration of their term limit, from 2 years to 1 year.
Minister of Education, Alden McLaughlin, stated at a press briefing today that he believes the 7-year term limit for expatriate workers should apply to employees in both the private and public sectors. He went on to say that he did not see any immediate amendment to the law that currently only applies to private sector workers.