Minister Wheatley said surprise visits will also be among these inspections as the government seeks to identify those business owners who continue to defy the local labour laws and mete out unfair treatment to workers.

“Until we get in there — the workplace looking over their shoulders — they will never do better. So I’m glad we now have money in there (the budget) to go do what we have to do. And sometimes there will be surprise inspections too, we’ll just show up. So you better be on your P’s and Q’s at all times because you won’t know when we are coming. So keep your house in order,” Minister Wheatley warned.

He continued: “People always do what’s inspected and not what’s expected. So we have to start inspecting our workplaces to make sure they are operating the way they are supposed to. Persons are doing a lot of foolishness. There are some companies that are model companies — they’re doing every single thing you expect them to do. And then, you have a set over there, they make you wonder sometimes about the human species. How could humans treat other human beings like that? As if they are objects,” Wheatley lamented.

He added that these inspections will be possible because the Immigration & Labour Ministry is in the process of digitising a number of its processes, thereby allowing members of the public to do business without personal contact with staff.

This will give the staff more time to carry out inspections at businesses places across the territory.