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Chief Secretary Farley Augustine – THA Info Dept

The Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) is distributing book grants to those in need.

Chief Secretary and PDP deputy leader Farley Augustine announced this on Sunday in a Facebook live.

Augustine said he has asked all his assemblymen to join him in the venture to distribute $700 grants to help vulnerable students get ready for the new school term on September 5.

He said: “We have been able to pull together from among us a tiny sum that we can assist a few of you within our respective electoral districts. I made it mandatory for my members – for us to all put our hands in our pockets and contribute.” He said the grants will help buy books, uniforms, cloth, shoes, bookbags, or what the needs might be.”

The initiative, he said, was due to begin on Monday.

“Our political organisation, we are doing this. Along with the list, you would get a list of the agencies/stores/ haberdasheries that would be working along with us, partnering with us. And you are to just take this card to the respective outlets.”

He said this is something that he would usually do within his electoral district.

“I think it is important to give back. In fact, to whom much is given, much is expected.

“These cards are only $700. It is all that we can afford to give per person because we are trying to stretch what we have collected to share among several people.”

He said he has reached out to several Tobagonians for assistance as well.

“I want to say thanks to those that have contributed, because outside of the party…we have had other members, other supporters and well-wishers pitching in to give us some. We believe in the concept of one-one cocoa does full basket.”

He said more emphasis must be placed on education.

“We have to be about engendering a culture of learning and research and reading and critical thinking. I hope that as we go into this new school year, this new academic year starting in September, that parents, you would help us push that line of support for our young people – they need it.

“Covid19 has done a significant number on them, covid19 has really robbed our children of having a lot, they just don’t have a lot of what they need. They have almost two years of limited socialisation, children need socialisation to learn – some of our children learn by playing; some are kinesthetics; some need to learn by using their hands, and so the lockdown virtual mode did not help some of our children as was evident by the examination results from SEA.”

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Readers are asked to note that Op-eds do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of Loop Cayman.

by ‘Caymaican’

The Cayman Islands’ 2021 Census Report shows that Jamaica ranks second as the place of birth for Cayman residents. However, this does not translate into Jamaicans taking second place for the top jobs in Cayman. Instead, Jamaican born workers mostly work as housekeepers, cleaners, caretakers, gardeners, police and construction workers, where they earn the middle-to-lower end of the salary scale in Cayman. In contrast, workers representing smaller percentages of the population (the UK, USA and Canada) in terms of birth, appear to command Cayman’s highest salaries. I believe there are several reasons for these disparities, some of which I mention below.

Cayman’s economic needs

First, as Cayman developed rapidly (with more buildings, homes and businesses) Cayman was forced to find people from overseas to fill posts for construction and other areas where tradesmen were required. This happened because Cayman did not establish large enough of an institution to equip and train a sufficient number of Caymanians to take these jobs as they became available.

In addition, there was a period of time in Cayman that professions like tradesmen, electricians and others in the construction industry were not deemed to be “prestigious enough” for my fellow Caymanians to pursue as careers. Instead, my fellow Caymanians were attracted to jobs in banks and other places in the financial services industry. A matter of preference, as it were.

The result of these permutations and combinations is that a smaller number of Caymanian-born workers were represented in trades industries over the years when compared to Jamaican-born workers (the 2021 Census also confirms that construction is the largest employer of Non-Caymanians and is the fifth largest place of employment for Caymanians, confirming that the long-held trend of the number of Non-Caymanians versus Caymanians in the construction industry is continuing).

Proximity

Literally being located next door also influenced Cayman as a choice for Jamaicans.

Advantages of being include:

Ability to return home quickly in case of family emergenciesAllows parents working in Cayman to conveniently see their children in Cayman during the summer holidays when school is outShort flight

Hiring practices

These benefits also translated well for Cayman businesses too because they could obtain workers on short notice when sufficient labourers were not available in Cayman to complete new or ongoing projects.

My suspicion is that, over time, because of the convenience and proximity, human resources managers developed a “preference” for Jamaican workers, especially in construction and housekeeping.

At the same time, however, for the financial services industry to thrive, human resources managers in that sector recruited many of their managers, directors and partners from the UK, USA and Canada. The median salary for these positions, as shown below, is about 6k per month (note that partners can make millions of dollars per year at law firms and accounting firms, not just 6k per month).

Salary of managers according to 2021 Cayman Census

The median salary, however, for construction and trades (where many Jamaican-born workers are employed) is 3k or less per month, with housekeepers in the region of 1k per month (often, this situation does not change even when Jamaican-born workers obtain Caymanian citizenship). This is highlighted in the preceding table and the table below.

Salaries in construction based on the 2021 Cayman Census Report

Importance of differences

The significance of the differences between positions held by Jamaican-born workers (representing a large percentage of residents on the basis of birth) and the UK, USA and Canada (representing a smaller percentage of residents on the basis of birth) is that, given the salaries, Jamaican-born workers are likely to have a harder time surviving the high cost of living in Cayman and may also live near or at the poverty level.

Anomaly could have been avoided

This anomaly, in my view, may have been avoided over the years if human resource planners considered Jamaican scholars for positions in the financial services industry at the same time that they assessed Cayman’s needs in trades industries.

For example, looking at Rhodes Scholarships alone, these have been awarded to Jamaicans from the 1950s to date, for literary and scholastic attainments, according to data published by the University of The West Indies. Jamaica also boasts good university education standards, with some Caymanians even obtaining their education in Jamaica in the past. Jamaica could have therefore been seen as a reliable source of educated candidates for top jobs, not just construction and housekeeping.

Opportunity to change things

Ignoring what could have been, the Cayman government and businesses have an opportunity now to correct the existing mismatch. The will to do this, however, may depend on the attitude towards more diversity at the top.

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Opposition Leader Mark Golding says the People’s National Party (PNP) continues to attract and welcome “enlightened private sector interests” to build a progressive alliance to help uplift disadvantaged Jamaicans.

Golding’s declaration is being viewed as an attempt to distance himself from recent comments made by Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Clarendon, Lothian Cousins, who accused the private sector of “propping up” the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government and neglecting the poor.

According to Cousins, the recent reduction of chicken prices by $12.50 was “another three-card trick”.

Cousins also accused the private sector of “never” supporting a PNP-led administration.

“They have never supported us that way, and they will never support us that way because we are the party for the people!” argued Cousins.

Golding, who was addressing a South West St Andrew PNP divisional conference on the weekend, poured the proverbial cold water on the comments that were made by Cousins, who is also the Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture.

“We’ve always been an alliance of the progressive elements of all classes in the society – downtown, mid-town, uptown – even while our mission has been the upliftment of the disadvantaged masses of the people,” declared Golding.

“… And by the progressive elements, who am I referring to? I am referring to those who use their positions of privilege to improve the conditions of the masses, rather than to maintain the status quo,” he said.

In indirectly addressing any chatter of lack of private sector support for the PNP, Golding said this has never been the case.

Lothian Cousins

“… And for the record, our party enjoys, and indeed, welcomes the support from enlightened private sector interests, and that has always been the case,” he stated.

“Indeed, our aim is to build a national alliance of progressives that can effectively summon the will and resources that are required to make our national motto – Out of Many One People – more than a noble aspiration. We want it to become an accurate description of the Jamaican society,” Golding indicated.

According to him, that was the vision of the party’s founding president, Norman Washington Manley.

Meanwhile, unlike Cousins, Golding commended Jamaica Broilers for its reduction in chicken prices locally.

“We commend a recent gesture from a major local producer to reduce the price of goods in the trade,” stated Golding.

The PNP president urged “all suppliers of the basic needs of the population to follow that example, and indeed, do more.

“This is especially needed at this time, given the Government’s failure to adequately cushion the cost of living crisis engulfing the Jamaican people,” he said, adding that any private sector group that does this has the support of the PNP.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has rejected suggestions from the Opposition that it has failed to cushion the cost of living.

He said the Government has taken a balanced approached in supporting the most vulnerable groups while keeping the economy growing.

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Feestelijke afsluiting Sasi Sura Tekst en beeld Audry Wajwakana PARAMARIBO — “Happy new year!” riepen javanisten blij. Met het afschieten

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