JAMAICA seems to have jumped the gun with its liberal work permit laws, well ahead of even the implementation of free movement labour migration (re CSME), and possible future migration trends. This is because I fail to see that Jamaica lacks sufficient local talent for a particular job, that it needs to allow the recruitment of overseas talent for a job that is at best euphemistically called female entertainment (read our sister publication, the Star, page 3 of June 10, 2004).
Now, I am no expert at perusing this area of entertainment, so I may be out of my league, but please tell my why Jamaica needs to allow work permit for foreign 'dancers', or in local parlance, 'go-go dancer'? Is it that there is also equal migratory movement of local dancers to Russia, and other ex-Soviet republics, Dominican Republic, the USA and other countries? Is it that we believe in equal opportunity for all races to be exploited so that instead of poor black girls alone being exploited, we can broaden this exploitation to include poor white mixed ethnic race groups of girls, to be exploited as well? I am not being xenophobic, I am only interested in knowing why some groups seem to be excluded from a clear labour law breach.
Work Permits-Foreign Nationals and Commonwealth Citizens' (Employment) Act, is best known as the Work Permit Act and is issued by the Ministry of Labour & Social Security (MLSS). It is supposed to ensure that Jamaicans get first opportunities when such jobs are needed, or that the employer (applying for the work permit) had first attempted to fill the vacancy with a Jamaican national before a work permit was granted to an overseas person to enter Jamaica. In 2003 there were 3,843 work permits issued, which itself was a 23 per cent increase over 2002. Data show that since 1999, there has been a steady increase in the number of work permits approved. Most applicants are working in the wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurant areas (40 per cent), with another 19 per cent working in community, social and personal services areas.
It may well be that this area comes up under special personal services, but I don't know of any local shortage of such girls, given the large number of massages parlours being advertised, the number of such dance club establishments and the lower pay being offered for other jobs that meet the respective qualifications of the girls who dance at these clubs.
It would be interesting to know the social dynamics behind the need to recruit foreign dancers to Jamaica. Is it to give some of their clientele girlfriends (as it is rumoured with some of the Cuban and Russian dancers); or to show the local ones the professional approach (as regards punctuality) since it was said that the 'Reggae Boyz' were transformed when the English football professionals were added to the mix in 1996. In these days of gender equality we also have to ask why is it permissible to have male strippers come to our shores when there are also local ones available in our tourist resort areas except that we don't call them that. Jamaica's interpretation of labour laws in this area seems to be a very liberal interpretation, or is it that the police officers and MLSS officials need to spend more time perusing the subject (literally and figuratively) before taking steps to reduce the practice?
