‘No to projects using cheap expat labour!’ – Natalio D. Wheatley
“When I first returned from the Virgin Islands from being away at school that was when the Beef Island project was a big deal and one of the things that really scared me about that project is that they wanted to bring in some workers from China and India,” he said during a phone call into the PEP radio show heard on Monday October 27, 2014 on ZBVI 780 AM.
He said that these low wage workers were being proposed to help build the hotel and other things. “They [spoke about] setting up these work camps; I’m talking about hundreds of workers, about 500 workers,” said Wheatley.
“I don’t think that this is the model that we want to follow in our tourism product because that model is to pay the least amount of money possible and you have some people working here who are barely surviving,” he said.
“I think we want a situation where the people who are working are able to go and shop in our stores and are able to patronize our businesses and that would help to strengthen the economy overall,” he said.
“I am not against a partnership with people from outside, but I think a much more acceptable concept is looking at Maria’s By The Sea for instance, which just did a big expansion,” he said.
“That’s really what you want to see…you don’t just want to see after you work so hard working in your own economy and investing your money, time and energy, somebody else comes in and just reaps all the benefits of your hard work,” said Wheatley.
“We are not against partnerships but we have to see benefits also,” said Wheatley.
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24 Responses to “‘No to projects using cheap expat labour!’ – Natalio D. Wheatley”
We must continue to work at improving our way of life and empowering ourselves; (meaning, our education system, better wages, simplify the process for nationals to create businesses that in turn will employ other BVI-slanders and whoever else). Money makes the mare run it is said. It takes money to do those things mentioned; and difficult to do on low, minimum wage jobs. A 2-year scholarship can easily cost $48-50,000. Imagine working for let's say $4.00-$5.00 an hour, with the responsibility of sending your two teenagers away to a reputable college/university.
Slavery itself was about free labour in which slave owners exploited workers for their own enrichment. Today, 400 years after slavery, there are business owners/others, still exploiting people for cheap labour.
The fact that we can purchase cheap Chinese products (produced by workers in the sweat shops) doesn't make it right and desirable.
Good things are however, beginning to happen. Mr. Richard Brandson recently had an Epiphany, in which he found it fitting that his employees (salaried), be entitled to "Unlimited and unmonitored vacation time". Guess what the outcome of that decisions will mean for Mr. Brandson. Highly motivated, committed and Productive employees; an all around Winner.
See link: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/richard_branson_virgin_unlimited_vacation_time.html
How many locals you know getting paid $4.00 an hour? I swear you all love to chat s..t.
Hypocrits!