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by pltm
(PLTM) - In a damning report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN body raised an alarm over the BVI's system, which it suggests is set up in a such a way to abuse expatriates. UNICEF in its report titled, Situation Analysis of Children in the BVI 2016, said that most immigrants are in the BVI legally on work permits. However, a work permit is not an authorization for the person to work in the Territory; rather, it is an authorization for the person to work in a specific job, for a specific person or company. "Moreover, the permit has to be renewed annually. According to interviewees, employers use this process to justify low salaries and hide abuses committed against non-belonger employees." The report, which was made public last week in the House of Assembly, stated that for example, interviewees said that sexual abuse and violence against non-belonger women, by employers, is more frequent than is reported. "However, victims are afraid to come forward since their permanency depends on a good relationship with their employer." The report reemphasized, "…Non-belongers need a work permit, which must be attached to an employer and constantly renewed, and are ultimately under the control of migration authorities." Struggling To Co-exist UNICEF also pointed out that despite a substantial presence of immigrants in the Territory for many years, there is an implicit tension between those who belong to the BVI and those who do not belong. "This tension leads to the unspoken exclusion of non-belongers in different aspects of the society, and in public services and public jobs offered by government. With few exceptions that include some health, teaching and police jobs, most government managerial jobs are filled by belongers," the report outlined. It was stated that Belongership also determines the access that families have to social welfare benefits, and to the right to vote and buy land. "Sometimes this tension is not so tacit," it further noted. The issue was also flagged in the 2011 Social Sector Review (Government of the BVI 2011), which had stated that social tension is evident in everyday life as BVIslanders and non-BVIslanders attempt to peacefully co-exist. The Social Sector Review had stated, "The issue of BVIslanders and non-BVIslanders needs to be decisively resolved in a just manner. The impacts are felt in all the social services, inter-personal and inter-group and intra-community relations." Meanwhile, UNICEF noted that migration to the Territory has been as a result of socio-economic processes in the Caribbean and the Territory during the past decades, including the demand to increase the labour force to expand construction and tourism. According to the 2010 Census, 57 percent of immigrants came to the BVI in search of employment. Among the population, 61 percent were born overseas (non-belongers), with the majority of them coming from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
