Local/regional workforce being diluted, as foreign workers are being imported by powerful employers, union president says

Attempts are being made to dilute the Antigua labour force, says
Samuel James, president of the Antigua and Barbuda Free Trade
Union, who asserts that there has been a marked increase in the
hiring of foreign workers – many from Asian countries. 

Some residents say they have noticed this trend, which is sidelining
local workers, especially in the supermarket sector, while James
says it has been developing over the past several years. 

If a detailed examination of the labour force were to be undertaken,
the union president says, it would show that some of the major
employers are being allowed to import workers from The
Philippines and other Asian countries, thereby pushing aside
citizens and residents. 

According to James, this is unnecessary, since, in his opinion, the
country does not have a shortage of labour. Rather, foreign workers
are being brought in because they can be paid less than a local
would agree to accept, he says.

However, this practice is not new, James notes, adding that it began
several decades ago with Caribbean immigrants.

But what appears to have happened, he says, is that the regional
immigrants have become familiar with the country’s Labour Code;
therefore, they no longer accept certain things from an employer.

Meanwhile, James says the local work force is to be blamed for what
is happening now, since workers have allowed themselves to be
divided, instead of standing in solidarity with each other. 

The president says that some local workers appear motivated to act
only on matters that are political in nature. But when it comes to
their own best interest, they cannot seem to find the will.
However, he is hoping that, sometime soon, they will be able to find
their way to self-preservation.