Overseas employment agencies under Gov't microscope
THE HALF-WAY Tree police yesterday busted what they believe is one of several major overseas employment rackets raking in thousands of dollars from Jamaicans needing jobs.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security recently announced plans to intensify its efforts to close down the illegal employment agencies and protect gullible clients from being relieved of hard-earned cash in their search for work.
Police sources explained yesterday that, acting on intelligence, they raided premises in the Half-Way Tree police area and found 39 Jamaican passports, as well as fingerprint clearance giving each client a good police record.
"The fingerprint clearance will be sent to the CIB Headquarters to be checked," Superintendent Rosie McDonald-Barker told The Gleaner yesterday.
Reports are that the police are interrogating two men in connection with the seizure and have extended invitations to person(s) who may have paid money for overseas employment to visit the Half-Way Tree CIB. Each client was required to pay $8,000-$10,000 to be registered by the agency while it claimed to be seeking jobs for them.
WARNING
The Ministry issued a warning to illegal employment agencies at the end of June that, unless they were registered with the Ministry immediately, they would be subjected to legal and police action.
The Ministry held a seminar on June 26, attended by a large number of the owners of the illegal agencies, at which the warning was issued by Permanent Secretary, Alvin McIntosh. However, a week later, the Ministry's senior director of manpower services, Barrington Bailey, admitted that only three of the approximately 80 illegal employment agents who attended the seminar had complied.
Mr. Bailey said that the Ministry was disappointed with the reaction and warned that not only would police action be taken against them for operating without licences, but also that the law covering their operations, the Employment Agency (Regulations) Act, would be amended to allow for increases in fines and penalties against them.
Mr. Bailey also warned that the law would be changed to reduce the period in which the agencies can hold on to their clients' registration fees, from one year to six months, and to restrict them from registering more clients inside of providing jobs for at least 50 per cent of those already on their registers.
Mr. Bailey said that the Ministry has had numerous complaints from persons who had been cheated by the agencies.
The agencies operate on the basis that they advertise employment opportunities in the newspapers, then collect anywhere from $500 to US$800 from clients who come in to register. Most clients, however, never get jobs and the agencies often remove overnight to new addresses.
