LABOUR Minister Derrick Kellier admitted yesterday that his ministry had granted several work permits to foreign nationals for jobs which were never advertised locally, which is the normal requirement.

The minister’s admission, however, earned the wrath of the Opposition spokesman on Labour Ruddy Spencer, who severely criticised the government for granting hundreds of work permits without advertising the vacancies locally.

“There are thousands of Jamaicans in need of work, can’t get work, and we have a Ministry of Labour (even) issuing work permits to people to work in bars… It is unreasonable to issue work permits to those people. I am saying that in no instance whatsoever were any of those jobs advertised. None whatsoever,” Spencer said.

Kellier, in answering questions in the House of Representatives about the issuing of work permits by his ministry since the start of this year, said nearly 2,300 work permits were granted to foreigners to work in the local building and construction industry, as well as at the Bahia Principe hotel site and the multi-purpose sports complex being built by the Chinese government in Sligoville, St Catherine between January and August this year.

Spencer, however, claimed that none of the vacancies for which these work permits were granted were advertised by the ministry. He said that this behaviour showed “insensitivity to the poor”.

Kellier told the House that the involvement of the ministry in the early stages of the recruitment process had ensured that the majority of persons on the projects were locally recruited.

However, he said that there had been “lapses” in the past and, pressed by Spencer, he admitted that work permits were issued without the vacancies being advertised.