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by pltm
(PLTM) - Days after the conclusion of the annual Emancipation celebration two members of the House of Assembly said that they have heard reports of persons being subjected to employment conditions that contravenes labour laws and in some instances are akin to a form of slavery.
The matter was brought to the attention of Legislators during the August 14 sitting of the House of Assembly by Sixth District Representative, Hon. Alvera Maduro-Caines.
She told the House, “I must mention a troubling situation that was brought to my attention. I have been approached by various expats who have been brought into our country to work under certain contractors and the treatment that has been given to them – treatment somewhat of slave life.”
“Some are forced to work seven days a week, some complain they get 15 minutes to eat, no overtime, no double time, poor housing condition,” Hon. Maduro-Caines disclosed. The Legislator said one of the workers told her he is trying to get back home because he has never been treated in this manner.
“Another set came to me, the agreed payment was $150 a day; they’ve been hired by a said contractor who is collecting $150 a day and paying them a $100 a day – he is holding on to the $50 for himself,” she added.
The Sixth District Representative said that the situation is sad and stated that she cannot believe people are treating others in ways she has heard of: “Mister Speaker how did we get to this place of treating people in this manner. What makes some of us feel that we are better than anybody else to treat people in this manner. And we often complained about how others treated us, and now we are imposing this treatment on our own color this has to stop.”
“If we are going to import people to work and treat them in this manner, may as well we leave them in their own country. People are people, I don’t care whether you’re from Tortola, Antigua, Dominica, St Vincent wherever – we are all human and we are all equal. We are not to treat in this slave like manner -- that went through the door, or at least I thought that went through the door years and years gone by when the forefathers fought for us to come from that type of setting,” she added.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour Dr. the Hon. Kedrick Pickering corroborated Hon. Maduro-Caines’ announcement, stating that after receiving some of the reports he has to admit and call the situation “enslavement”.
Hon. Pickering announced that the Ministry has called for an investigation into the matter: “We have had reports at the Ministry about the very issues that my colleague from the Sixth District have raised, [and] we’ve asked them to be investigated.”
“They are some troubling complaints, some of them in writing from individuals who have basically been saying that they’ve been enslaved – it’s that simple and plain. I can’t find a better way to polish it up and it’s shameful, it’s disgraceful. It doesn’t speak well for us as a Territory and all of us should condemn it, because it is absolutely wrong.”
In expressing his anger at the reports, Hon. Pickering said that citizens of the BVI should speak out against the situation. “In this day and age, for any man to enslave another man not only is it abhorable and abominable, but it’s disgusting to even think about it. To know that it is happening in our country is shameful and disgraceful; so I have to raise my voice in this forum publicly to condemn those who’ve been taking advantage of what is otherwise a policy that was in place to help our recovery.”
“For those who are using it for the purposes of trying to take advantage of fellow human beings, it’s something that we should all standup and say that is wrong and we are not proud of it.”
The Minister further called for actions to be taken against the perpetrators of these inhumane acts. “[We] will do whatever we can to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice because it is something that should never be happening in any country, much less our beloved British Virgin Islands,” Hon. Pickering declared.
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