The Department of Labour and Workforce Development is likely to be reverting back to manually processing work permit applications, after the recently implemented online system is said to have failed to achieve its intended goal.
The suggestion to revert back to manually processing work permit applications came from a resident during the stakeholders’ meeting which was held by the government on Thursday February 10.
After making the suggestion, Labour Commissioner Michelle McLean lauded the idea, stating that it was a really good proposal.
Backing the Labour Commissioner was the Minister of Labour and Immigration, Honourable Vincent Wheatley, who said he would reluctantly do it once it will solve the present backlog that exist in Labour.
He said, “We try to modernise labour, I am for online, I am for going green, but if the commissioner is telling me by going back to the manual system is going to alleviate this current situation, I am prepared to do it though grudgingly.”
“But if it’s going to help in any way, take a day or two off the process, I am willing to do it for a certain period of time. But I do not think manual is the way to go as we modernise and as we go into an electronic error. But if it’s going to help to alleviate the situation right now, well then as I say, I’d grudgingly say let’s do it,” Minister Wheatley further reiterated.
According to Ms. Mclean, the Online Work Permit System which was implemented in July 2021, was often faced with several technical issues, ranging from the disappearance of submitted applications to still having to manually process some documents.
She said these technical difficulties made her employees work even harder and not smarter as intended.
Meanwhile, Ms Mclean also revealed that there is a backlog of some 2,064 work permit applications that need to be processed.
She said since the new system was implemented, it received a total of 5,466 applications, with 3546 renewals and 1573 new applications.
Of the renewals, she said 2005 were processed while 1050 of the new applications were also processed.
Also to note, there were 347 temporary/entertainment/emergency work permits which McLean said had all been processed.