Antigua and Barbuda tightens work permit rules to boost local employment

Antigua and Barbuda: The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda is moving to tighten the country’s work permit system to prioritise local workers over foreign hires. The measures were announced by Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant during a post-Cabinet media briefing on June 11, following a presentation by the Labour Commissioner and officials from the One Stop Employment Centre (OSEC).

According to Merchant, the Cabinet has expressed concern that job vacancies are not being widely advertised to local job seekers, resulting in limited awareness of available employment opportunities across the country. 

“Cabinet notes every week that there are some areas within the business sector that requests are being made for the importation of labour for certain types of jobs, and Cabinet feels that there is something drastically wrong with that process because they believe that locals can assume those positions. And so why are certain labourers being imported? Why are nannies being imported? Why are cooks being imported and so forth?” 

To address this issue, employers who seek to hire foreign workers will now be required to demonstrate that vacancies were advertised across multiple platforms beforehand, including traditional media, online news outlets, digital channels, and the OSEC system before any work permit applications are considered.

Furthermore, the government has also announced an immediate shift in policy regarding the physical location of applicants. Reportedly, Cabinet has indicated that in future, applicants will be required to apply from the country where they reside before entering Antigua and Barbuda for employment, and once the position couldn’t be filled in Antigua and Barbuda, only then the work permits will be granted.

“The Labor Department, the Immigration Department, and the policies governing the granting of work permits will be strengthened in that regard to ensure that you apply from overseas,” he added further.

Authorities would also be introducing stricter scrutiny for certain categories of applications, specifically for domestic workers, to ensure that employers can justify their needs for foreign labor and demonstrate adequate financial capacity for meeting employment obligations.

Under the updated framework, approval of permits would strictly depend on the Labour Department’s verification that a position cannot be filled internally after immense local recruitment. Furthermore, the labour department has also been directed to expand its own digital platforms and utilize social media distribution channels to make sure that job openings are advertised to the widest possible domestic audience.

According to officials these changes are aimed to strengthen labor market protections while ensuring that qualified Antiguans and Barbudans have the first opportunity to fill available jobs.