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'Freeze all work permits for VG jobs immediately!' – Hon Andrew A. Fahie

- as a means of protecting locals in the face of the impending closure of Rosewood Little Dix Bay resort
Representative for the First District Honourable Andrew A. Fahie called on the government to immediately put a freeze in all work permits for jobs in Virgin Gorda to allow local persons displaced from Rosewood Little Dix bay resort to find work. Photo: VINO/File
Rosewood Little Dix Bay Resort. Photo: VINO/File
Rosewood Little Dix Bay Resort. Photo: VINO/File
Biras Creek Resort. Photo: Provided
Biras Creek Resort. Photo: Provided
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Representative for the First District Honourable Andrew A. Fahie has called on Government to immediately put a freeze on all work permits for jobs in Virgin Gorda to allow local persons displaced from Rosewood Little Dix Bay Resort to find work.

The Opposition member was speaking yesterday February 4, 2016 under 'any other business' during the Sixth Sitting of the First Session of the Third House of Assembly.

The resort caused controversy when it recently announced that come May 1, 2016 it will be commencing renovation works and will be closing for 18 months to facilitate this, meaning that all of the staff – numbering over 300 – would be laid off.

Government had said it was not made aware of the impending closure of the resort until the day before it was announced to the staff themselves, January 14, 2016. The National Democratic Party Administration has since announced a number of countermeasures to help those who will be displaced find work and get assistance in terms of Immigration and Labour formalities.

“If you are reading and following [the news], every country now saying we have to protect our people,” he said, noting that it was not only Rosewood Little Dix Bay but also Biras Creek and other establishments that had job casualties all totalling over 400 people.

“One of the first things I would humbly suggest since I could only do it in here is that we put a freeze on all work permits to Virgin Gorda…for all jobs for Virgin Gorda you put an instant freeze on work permits. Because you cannot have 400 odd people running around a place without a job. That should be done instantaneously,” Hon Fahie said.

Put a freeze on lands to non-locals

Further, Honourable Fahie suggested that because of the loss of jobs in Virgin Gorda, Government needs to put a freeze on the purchase of land for anybody who is non-local.

“Because those who have waiting for those who don’t have much, to don’t end up with none at all, to go with their land. This is a big game and we have to step in now to secure our people while looking for jobs,” he said.

According to the First District Representative, over 60 percent of the 300 or so persons to be let go from Rosewood Little Dix Bay are locals.

He said the domino effect of the closure of the resort would mean that property owners might not get the rent that is due to them and as a result may run into problems with the bank, which may lead to them losing their apartment building. “And who is going to buy them if all of us broke?” he asked.

35 Responses to “'Freeze all work permits for VG jobs immediately!' – Hon Andrew A. Fahie”

  • eye observer (05/02/2016, 08:24) Like (76) Dislike (2) Reply
    you crazy this will never happen under the Cuban. When David J call him work permit approval gone wild!
  • peter pan (05/02/2016, 08:26) Like (95) Dislike (15) Reply
    Fahie you are on the ball with this one. Problem is some of our people in these positions are afraid to say no to some of these white people. They believe that many of them are more powerful than they are. Sad state of affairs.
    • crazy (05/02/2016, 09:44) Like (19) Dislike (9) Reply
      Its not white people who are going to take the Little Dix Bay jobs lost by it's closure , it is down islanders and Phillipinos.

      You go into any locally owned establishment and they do not hire their own, they either hire Philipinos or down islanders.
  • wize up (05/02/2016, 08:51) Like (7) Dislike (16) Reply
    the days of wishful thinking are over: given the current Virgin Island society that relies so heavily on outside labour talking about freezing work permits is simply wishful thinking.... my question is why cant the government build its own resorts after all they subsidize so many other things: government owned profit making establishments will ensue that VI People have secured job because at any given time the private owned resorts can close: look at prospect reef a prime example of a profit making establishment but government does not with such prime real estate.... as a growing territory how much longer will we continue to rely on others for job security for the people of territory...the goverment spends millions advertising the territory lets build our own resorts so visitors can stay in them
    • @wize up (05/02/2016, 10:05) Like (30) Dislike (1) Reply
      err... Prospect Reef? A disaster. Governments are not normally in the business of running tourist resorts...
  • suggestion (05/02/2016, 09:28) Like (11) Dislike (5) Reply
    tell the governor to finally deport david johnson and restore some sanity to the community. let a local run biras,
    and take back the oil nut house to be for locals.
  • Loc (05/02/2016, 09:28) Like (9) Dislike (0) Reply
    You are totally right honorable, locals should have the first opportunity to survive in their own home. Unfortunately the government might not feel the same way
  • vi (05/02/2016, 09:50) Like (11) Dislike (0) Reply
    Fahie I agree
  • Bernie Sanders (05/02/2016, 09:58) Like (6) Dislike (0) Reply
    Wize up ,i so agree ,but tne governments after H L Stouutt went crazy renting buildings for government offices and today they are so broke because they have to pay a lot of people mortgages...NDP bought Prospect Reef and it still sitting like an eye sore..Swimming with the dolphins is a huge business, and government should be looking at adding more attractions to Prospect Reef ,with investor partners with government having the most say ,so we wouldn't fall in the same situation ass Biras and Little dix..The Minister in charge of Prospect Reef should be moving fast to get Prospect up and running for the betterment of the country..
    • BuzzBvi (05/02/2016, 12:18) Like (8) Dislike (0) Reply
      Ha ha. Read the online reviews for Prospect Reef. Government doing a great job of scaring tourists away from the BVI.
  • Solui (05/02/2016, 10:07) Like (12) Dislike (1) Reply
    I am in awe no stupefied when I come across certain blogs. With all that has been going on at the various government projects why would we want government to build, nar take on another? As the narratives been thus far that small projects ballooning with all sorts of additives like sugar on the financing part without any proper management of work done for the sum and midstream course changing of designs, poor materials, corrective works over corrective works and and. What? More debt on the people like those that we have is not near enough? What of Prospect Reef? I am not sure who owns it now but that could have been good back then as it is already here but to suggest that government to BUILD a hotel is MADNESS seeing how the 45 Mil skyrocketing to 90 mil + . Nope not at all.
    • wize up (05/02/2016, 11:00) Like (1) Dislike (1) Reply
      Solui: fine, so we will simply remain second class citzen in this territory: look through the caribbean and see that government owns profit making accommodations...project management is far different from business development; I am having a conversation about business development NOT project management.... Your issue is project management,way off from business development...there is nothing like owning your own stuff; how much longer must the people of this territory be subjected to job insecurity when an investor closes his business: this territory owns the tourist product while others come in and build accommodation or owns the sailing industries: after racking in the big bucks most of them turns around and leave the territory and who suffers, our people...I am speaking about business development NOT project management
      • Hmm (05/02/2016, 12:57) Like (6) Dislike (5) Reply
        The way it seems to works in the BVIs is that anyone not born here is treated as a 2nd class citizen. The discriminatory behavior is not far from the South Africa apartheid system.Even then, the only first class citizens (in their minds anyway) are those connected to the families in power who seem to have no compunction whatsoever to squander the public coffers for the benefit of those families.
        Secondly, freezing work permits is not really going to work because a lot of the jobs the work permits are for are for needed services that BVislanders are either unwilling to do or unable to do because the educational system does not address the labor needs of the country.
        • . (08/02/2016, 01:33) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
          Usually, foreign nationals in a host country are not treated as "second class citizens" since they are NOT CITIZENS AT ALL. So don't flatter yourself. First you all said the jobs are too big for us and we are not educated enough. Then you said the jobs are too low for us and we don't want to do them. Now you have the audacity to claim BOTH! Go from here. Go back to your own country and give it the benefit of your glorious presence. We are tired of you.
      • @wize up (06/02/2016, 12:46) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
        you seem to be forgetting that the business the government is to be managing is the welfare of the people of the territory - firstly BVIslanders and residents. Visitors are to enjoy the services put in place for the well-being of the residents who live in the territory. Government is required to take care of the roads and other public utilities, schools and other public structures, and social services and health care, etc. Allow or enable the residents to invest in hotels and other private interests. There has to be a distinction between public services provided by
        Government and private enterprises.
  • myrun (05/02/2016, 10:25) Like (7) Dislike (3) Reply
    "we can no longer make laws to protect the locals"
  • son of the soil (05/02/2016, 10:26) Like (4) Dislike (8) Reply
    I second the motion.
  • Yes (05/02/2016, 10:28) Like (17) Dislike (17) Reply
    fahie u can't tell a employer who to hire for their business..nonesence
  • Easy (05/02/2016, 11:07) Like (4) Dislike (9) Reply
    Yep, it's easy to create jobs for locals, just freeze all work permits and all unemployed locals will simply get those jobs. Why didn't I think of that? SMH!
  • Fahie knows better (05/02/2016, 11:41) Like (4) Dislike (7) Reply
    Freezing work permits do not guarantee BVIslanders jobs. There are some 20,000 jobs in BVI and only about 7,000 BVIslanders of working age. Go figure what Fahie is saying?
    • wize up (05/02/2016, 13:00) Like (1) Dislike (3) Reply
      @ fahie knows better: this is my point, so I made the comment about wishful thinking; good leadership to me, mean being able to separate facts from fiction; it is virtually impossible to freeze permit because some of our very own people have to employ non belongers to do work for them so the freezing of work permit will also disenfranchise our own people... thats why I spoke about wishful thinking: what the government must do is make sure when Establishments close their doors all workers are given their just rewards full compensation as mandated by the laws of the territory...just for some floks information; the statuary bodies in this territory are examples of profit making establishments for government... Government just started another profit making business and it is call National Health Insurance; why not expand to the accommodation business ( just saying)
  • waste ah time (05/02/2016, 14:44) Like (6) Dislike (2) Reply
    where is that nah-hoo from the 9th?
  • tretretrete (05/02/2016, 14:55) Like (11) Dislike (0) Reply
    Well Mr.Fahie I am a NDP and I agree with you ... So many locals like myself on VG can't get a job on VG. I have to travel to Tortola everyday. I applied at a company on VG owned by Italians and they hired a downislander who doesn't possess a high school diploma this I know because I have seen the facts.
    • wize up (05/02/2016, 15:54) Like (1) Dislike (10) Reply
      @ Hmmm: the practice of giving non belongers preference over the belongers for jobs did not begin in 2016; I am saying it began under the VIP: oh yes, the same member with all the solutions his political party allowed the practice of give non belongers jobs over the VI Lander; the whole work permt issue began under the VIP admistration and suddenly Mr Fahie have the solution after his party stared the problem, many many year ago....talk that!
  • VG-1 (05/02/2016, 15:37) Like (10) Dislike (1) Reply
    The 9th District has no representation as usual. Thanks Hon. Fahie
  • Trini Cable (05/02/2016, 17:21) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    Yes I too agree Some people that work for these Statuary Boards have entry level jobs and not from here.There are so many young locals that can do the job.
  • Well Sir (06/02/2016, 01:53) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    People it's time to stop talking trash this is a hurtful situation in VG people are hurting here and there are no jobs in VG I read the newspaper all the time and look at help wanted and the most of the vacancies are in tortola this is scary because most of the people might have to go back to their country and if that happen a lot of the rent owners are in trouble and more, so this thing is hurting all around .and don't worry with the government they don't help nobody because a Hon minister was call on to help and her said he was too busy so we people no matter where we come from need to stick together.
  • Change Must Come (06/02/2016, 10:35) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    I have been reading this thread and the thing is everyone has some bit of truth to what they are saying. Putting partisan comments aside @wize up has a good point and on continuing on this vein, I would suggest a focus on developing small business in Vg.

    Vigin Gorda does not even have a Dept. of Trade. My hope is that from this dilemma of the LDB closing, many entrepreneurs ( local and expat alike) can be nurtured to start and operate viable businesses for the community. The VG population continues to grow and it is high time that we becoming more self sustaining .

    More businesses lead to more jobs..Simple equation. So if the Gov't doesn't have the money or capacity to start and operate profitable enterprise, they should facilitate , subsidize, train and provide incentives for the ones who are willing. e.g Force the banks to ensure a % of their loan portfolio goes to small business loans...u know that type of thing .....instead of pressuring the present small business owners by restricting work permits...REALLY?

    • Don't Rely on Government (06/02/2016, 17:33) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Yes, Change Must Come is Right, locals should take charge of their own destiny, start businesses, help promote locally owned businesses, and work together as a group to secure training and small business loans subsidized by the Government. I don't like the word subsidize, but the government makes money from the North Sound resorts, so they can give some back to the locals. Don't ask or expect anything else from the government. If you do, then you can just sit around and complain about the outsiders coming in and making all the money. There is opportunity to make money in VG from tourism, it will be up to the younger generation, and I hope they start now.
  • Comment (06/02/2016, 10:56) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    "most of the people will have to go back home"... MmmmmMmusic to my ears!!!
  • hater (06/02/2016, 13:42) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply

    all them want is office work

    them na no to do field work thats why they have to have the down islanders to come in cause they have the skill

    not the tolans

    • . (08/02/2016, 01:40) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Excuse me, but what "field work" it have to do in VG? Listen, I have watched Virgin Gordians clean toilets and mess behind foreign management since the early 60's. We aren't going back to do that. If we have to do that work then EVERY SINGLE WORK PERMIT needs to be cancelled and persons sent home. BVI for BVIslanders!

      I would consider the closure a blessing if it meant these damn foreigners were all going home at last, but I know it for what it is: The purpose of the closure is to get BVIslanders off the payroll and give those jobs to Filipinos and other cheap labour. When will it end?
  • the doc (07/02/2016, 07:43) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    this government is what's in it for me, me, me. when this government get into power it was all about them selves and not for the country. sad to say too wise wil be too fool.


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