Stereotype! BVIslanders not lazy — Fraser
Third District Representative Julian Fraser has dismissed the suggestion that BVIslanders are lazy and averse to working, leading to a chunk of the youth population remaining unemployed.
Fraser gave that indication during a recent political debate for party leaders at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) where candidates were questioned about specific plans to address the twin issues of underemployment and unemployment in the territory.
“We first have to dismiss this stereotype that Virgin Islanders are shiftless, lazy, don’t want to work,” Fraser said in response. “We have to dismiss it. It’s not true.”
He added: “I think these people have the advantage of being citizens of the territory and they also have the right to determine whether or not they should be used as, not slaves, but you know, oppressed.”
Grow economy, accept UK’s loan guarantee
Fraser urged that steps should be taken to rebuild the economy to its pre-hurricane status — including seizing on a United Kingdom loan guarantee that was previously refused — to help with addressing the unemployment challenges facing the BVI.
“You grow the economy,” Fraser argued, “that stops people from being unemployed. It gives them work to do, and I said that we should capitalise on that loan facility guarantee that the United Kingdom has given to us — the $426 million to rebuild the territory. There’s so much work that we need to do with that money.”
The United Kingdom loan guarantee was declined by the Andrew Fahie-led Virgin Islands Party government after it was pointed out that the terms would be too unfavourable. Fahie had expressed that the UK wanted to pressure his government into accepting the loan guarantee and later shared details of what he termed an abusive relationship between himself and former UK-appointed governor, Augustus Jaspert.
Major projects will resuscitate economy
Fraser, in the meantime, counted the West End Ferry Terminal project, the Sea Cows Bay-based Ellis Thomas Downs racetrack, a planned Terrance B Lettsome International Airport runway expansion project and the government’s ongoing Ralph T. O’Neal Administration Complex reconstruction project as being among some of the major initiatives he felt would help to resuscitate the economy by providing jobs.
He argued that these projects are not only necessary to create employment but are all projects the territory’s economy needs.
“We need to bring our people back to work, and those are ways that we can do that. If you grow the economy, it eliminates unemployment, it eliminates the potential for crime, and those are the kind of things that I would be at the forefront, making sure it happens,” Fraser said.
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Another clueless comment from the old rascal.
If he had a business to run instead of sponging off those who do, he would know how hard it is to find staff in BVI.
LISTEN TO THE MESSAGE
I’ve employed many of my fellow bvislanders and they’ve been
amazing. Trouble is, I have to retrain them
each day after lunch time.
This is an old worn out topic that needs to be put to rest. Mr Fraser, you’ve done nothing of substance for your district. Talk about that and stop trying to put a wedge between belongers and non- belongers as you call them. This is God’s world. We all are belongers until we did then we no longer belong. Strupes
He added: “I think these people have the advantage of being citizens of the territory and they also have the right to determine whether or not they should be used as, not slaves, but you know, oppressed.”
In case you missed it, Fraser just admitted to nonbelongers being treated as “not slaves, but you know, oppressed”.
Many nonbelongers feel exactly like that having a two-tier system of employer rights in the BVI. Many nonbelongers get their money taken away and not paid into IRD, NHI or SSB. On top of that the gov’t joined the oppression by the double taxed policy through Western Union and Money Gram. Increased work permit fees, forcing good standing certificates on employees, not employers etc. etc..
Any Government in the BVI must work to correcting those inhumane ills (oppression) in order for this place to truly be blessed and thrive. Exclusion and oppression works against the development of the BVI.
Its not good for anyone because at the end the same employers want to treat bvi locals the same.
Locals can leave at any moment. They fear hiring locals and call it being difficult to find ‘skilled work’.
yet the person from overseas who is someone’s family member and a complete gamble on the job they prefer as cashiers instead of picking from the local interview pool.
Ask yourself why there are so many companies requiring expats for jobs while simultaneously there is chronic unemployment in the local economy? Training and education are for sure a major contributing factor BUT the service sector has to import labor to do basic jobs like bartend, waitress, janitorial work. This is because locals simply dont want to do these jobs even though they are not qualified to do higher level work. Thus we have the BVI Scooter Gangster…
Yup
To guarantee an expat job, all you need to do is add to the job listing “must be available to work overtime, weekends, and holidays.”
No BVI islander will take it.
No, that is not true. BVIslander generally DO NOT like each other and do not want to see another BVIslander amount to anything so they will hire anyone else, from Timbuktuu included, over another BVIslander. They are like crabs in a barrel. They fight up each other too damn much and if one of them resigns from a job, they do nothing but throw stones behind them so that others will have a perceived negative opinion of their “people”.
LOL, but this is GREAT because we (non-belongers) are the beneficiary of their crabby behaviour.
You need to go the hell back to where you came from. You know nothing about what BVIslanders like and do not like.
This is the only country in the hemisphere where people come in and want to treat the locals like second class citizens.
Go home. Don’t let the door hit you in the backside
mo ur a**. been here whole life . that is a fair generalization. too much jealousy too little teamwork. no respect for rule of law and education. here we is now . . .
While company owners and managers hop off to the coffee shops at 10am and 2pm daily, to the pubs by 4 on fridays and stop working altogether when the World Cup and like events are showing yes they want bvislanders to work.
While imports get paid literally 8 times the local to do the same job they want locals to work 8 times as hard.
If we had something that slightly resembled a Labour department half the shyt happen wouldn’t
People afraid to speak up. If only they knew that UK citizens are caught by UK laws no matter where they live.
Is there unemployment in BVI?
I suspect no one knows because I have never seen any statists.
In the last 4 years, the only statistics report I saw from the Statistical office was a report on the August Festival. And the report was poorly written.
Comes every election they see and know all the problems and have all the answers just to get elected but as soon as they get elected they forget about the people i just don’t understand.
Our labor laws are set up for employers to have power over and take advantage of expats… So a lot of employers only want to hire expats simply because of this… The excuse is that locals lazy and have bad attitude because a local is not going to take ill treatment usually paired with low pay that a expat would endure else they have to uproot their life and leave the country and re apply and try to see if they can get back in working for somebody else.
Fraser it’s not an easy road, my advice is when you get in there, really push hard, fix the water lines, clean the marina, and develop it into something like Nanny Cay. Sitting on a gold mine if you ask me.
Last thing be a team player, I’m a VIP I also want you to win. Just pay respect to our premier. The you leader is remarkable and stands out as transformative and revolutionary.
When they start this type of talk desperation setting in – Fraser zip it and do yourself a favor
Locals don’t even want to live here after they finish school… to work for pittance and still be taking orders from somebody with half their qualification and don’t know anything about anything.
Let me take a hit off that … nap time
Is it the expat boss you talking ’bout? Maybe it’s also because employers don’t want to pay them commensurate with their qualifications, experience and skills?
well you could not of said it any better ? he has just confirmed everything you said , and as the saying goes ( A LITTLE CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL ) and still they have the heart to SAY ( OUR carCARIBBEAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS ) WOW ? ?
Fraser has been bitter for a while now. Keep talking .
mo ur a**. been here whole life . that is a fair generalization. too much jealousy too little teamwork. no respect for rule of law and education. here we is now . . .
I want to urge all UK Virgin Islanders, not take employment with anyone-belongers or expatters, that will ill-treat, overwork,and undervalue your skills, for a mere pittance.
STRIVE for a career, NOT a job!
CONTINYA to be lazy, UK Virgin Islanders,until you get the career you want!
Don’t be bamboozled or shamed, into taking positions, to shore up career department heads, and politicians, to score “employment brownie” points!
Our people must be continually uplifted, and the employment shaming game is over; we are through with others’ and their descriptives of us!
is saying )> this ain’t no joke we ain’t lazy , it’s just that our ancestors did all the hard work so we just prefer to just chill out and plus we are entitled ,we in the 21st century and slavery done ?
Its not about being lazy.caribbean folks don’t know how to play the game.Do enough to pass that’s all.woek smart not hard.