NWU Wants Work Permit Council Restored

THE National Workers Union (NWU), one of St. Lucia most outspoken trade unions, has written to Labour Minister Stephenson King calling on him to re-instate the Work Permit Council, which was disbanded by the previous government.

The union’s President General Tyrone Maynard recalled the importance of such a Council and warned that if it is not restored the country could be overrun by non-nationals occupying jobs Saint Lucians are qualified to handle.

Maynard recalled that during the early seventies, government successfully negotiated a soft loan earmarked to construct a Roll On Roll Off Port that was vital to the economic development of the country.

He said that a foreign company called Concreto Centrifugado was awarded the contract to build the port facility. Unfortunately the company then brought in a number of Spanish speaking workers. When it was too obvious, about 30 Saint Lucian workers were also employed. The company brought in welders, carpenters, steel benders, masons, labourers, mixer operators, supervisors, equipment operators, drivers and even cooks.

According to Maynard the NWU was very instrumental in getting the Saint Lucian contingent of the workforce to withdraw their labour with a demand for more Saint Lucian workers to be employed.

He said that at the time the Prime Minister could not allow the workers action to build up and hence requested an audience with the NWU Leadership. The meeting was very fruitful coming out of which the following were agreed:

Workers would return to work immediately. A Work Permit Committee would be established comprising a broad section of the country to handle the question of workers coming to Saint Lucia to work, with a Work Permit application to be submitted prior. Also an Industrial Protocol would be set up to deal with matters affecting both sides.

“It was against this background that the Hon. Clendon Mason, then Minister for Communications, Works and Labour and a former Industrial Relations Consultant in the oil belt in Curacao, was given the mandate to put the necessary legislation together so that all skilled Saint Lucian workers would get a fair opportunity when seeking employment in all sectors. Sir that worked very well,” noted Maynard.

He said that the character of the Work Permit Committee was reviewed and included representation from Trade Unions, St. Lucia Employers Federation, St. Lucia Hotels Association, Small Business Association, the Immigration Department of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and a member of the Department of Labour. Further that the Committee was headed by a Chairperson and that all requests for Work Permits had to come from companies and addressed to the Secretary of the Work Permit Committee. Everybody got what they wanted.

“Sir, unfortunately, the Work Permit Committee which had Mr. Tom Walcott as its Chairman and an NWU representative in the person of Mr. George Goddard, was disbanded by the then Prime Minister, Dr. Kenny Anthony. Sir, there was no consultation. Today Saint Lucia has been witnessing an avalanche of individuals coming to our shores to undertake jobs that Saint Lucians are qualified to do. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to track down these persons. Sometimes they team up with some individuals who learn quite a bit from them. This development is definitely a risk and can threaten our national security,” noted Maynard in his letter to King.

“Minister, it is our view that your Government should revisit the legislation and reinstate the Work Permit Committee. Should you accede to our request, we are proposing the following,” wrote Maynard.

His proposals were that all Department of Labour officials along with the Immigration Department would have to be empowered to visit any plant to execute their job responsibilities; All Work Permit applicants should be out of Saint Lucia when an application is submitted on their behalf. They would be invited in for interviews, when the process begins.

Other proposals calls for all Work Permits granted should be done with the clear understanding that a Saint Lucian would have to work alongside the Work Permit holder as an understudy to prepare a Saint Lucian to hold that position upon the expiration of that work permit; All Work Permit Applications must come from the company on behalf of the applicant, and All applications for work permits must be published in the Gazette, The VOICE or The Star Newspaper.

“Should it become necessary to have an engagement with you on the above, we would make ourselves available based on an official request,” noted Maynard.