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Capo defends his hiring of Mexicans

Bimini Bay Project Owner says skills needed

By Barry Williams,Guardian Staff Reporterbarry@nasguard.com

Bimini Bay, Bimini – Gerardo Capo, Chairman of the Bimini Bay development, defended Mexicans hired to work on the $200 million condominium and hotel project and said there was a shortage of skilled workers on the island to fill those positions.

During an exclusive interview with The Nassau Guardian, Mr Capo was responding to remarks made in Parliament about the 100-plus Mexicans employed to do construction and other work on the Bimini Bay project, which is expected to inject growth and more stability into that economy.

"Sure we have a bunch of Mexicans here. We have tried to hire as many local individuals here as possible, but sometimes we don't find them skilled to do the work we need to do," said Mr Capo.

He explained that a small island and limited population meant that there were not sufficiently skilled labourers to do the required work.

"You cannot undertake a construction project of this magnitude with the local force that you have on a small island like Bimini," Mr Capo said.

Ashley Saunders, a local government council representative in Bimini agreed. He said the development could have been an opportunity for local construction workers, but because knowledge of technology was a requirement, the company was forced to look overseas. "We got caught pretty much with our pants down. I don't think Bimini was in a position to fill those jobs because we didn't prepare ourselves," he admitted.

Additionally Mr Saunders said, "They're using computers now to even pour concrete. We don't have the trained men and women to do these jobs."

Hiring construction workers from other islands was an option Mr Capo confirmed his team explored. "We tried. Every time we have positions we advertise in other islands to bring Bahamians here," he added.

Although some accept the job offers, Mr Capo said it was not an arrangement that usually worked out. He said those employed usually left before the project was completed. Those that do opt to stay usually ask for more money than his company is willing to pay.

It was not disclosed how much the Mexicans earned, however it has been speculated that they were hired because it was a cheaper deal for the Bimini Bay developers. Mr Capo insisted however that the problem was largely due to scarcity of skilled Bahamian labour.

There are those who feel differently however. A local construction worker on Bimini said, "Bahamians should have had first preference for the jobs and people would have taken the jobs, but it would have depended on the pay."

Although that source could not say whether there was an issue over pay, his remarks seemed to lead in that direction. "Some people have families to feed and they don't want to work for nuthin; so that's what I think it's all about," the source said.

Local workers have been hired to work at Bimini Bay however. However, the numbers have been described as only a "handful", and most of them worked in areas such as security and housekeeping.

Although the employment of Mexicans on the project is a perceived trade-off at the expense of local workers, Mr Capo said there was actually a benefit to that arrangement.

His argument was that the Mexicans could have the project completed in half the time it would take for Bahamian construction workers to do it. He said the quicker the development was completed, the quicker Bahamians would be hired to fill positions to service and maintain the condos and hotels.

"It's a benefit. It's a give and take. So if you could have the investor build 500 units in one year instead of building 100 units in 10 years it would be better," said Mr Capo.

A similar situation existed when Mr Capo was contracted to build the private residential Treasure Cove development in Nassau. He said foreign labour was hired on that project because Nassau-based workers lacked the expertise. "When I came to build Treasure Cove, I did not have the skilled labour force at that time and the government allowed me to bring in a foreign labour force," he said.

Additionally, he said the foreign labour force engaged Bahamian construction workers in training- and at a hefty price. "We used that foreign labour force to train local Bahamians. We spent over $100 million dollars to train Bahamians," he disclosed.

As a result of this foreign labour trade-off Mr Capo said Bahamians could be well placed to fill certain positions when foreign developers undertake projects in The Bahamas. Case in point – Mr Capo said one of the contractors on the Bimini Bay development has a multi-million dollar contract in his hands- and he is Bahamian.

However there are those who still advocate strongly for jobs for Bahamian workers and would unlikely ever buy Mr Capo's reasoning. Mr Capo believed that those persons opposing the developer's decision to employ Mexicans on the project had a political agenda. "Sometimes they take it out of context to play politics," he said.