He noted that some have been made to wait for as long as six months to be approved.

“I have expressed publicly in the media already my displeasure particularly with the concerns regarding the length of time it takes for work permits to be processed by the Labour Department and the undue hardship that places on businesses,” Penn stated at an Opposition press briefing yesterday.

Penn noted that the issue was especially critical at a time when businesses have been inactive or have had limited activity over the last 18 months and have had to get their staff in place to capitalise on the tourism season that the BVI is experiencing now.

Competing narratives about reason for delays

According to the Eighth District Representative, there have also been competing narratives from government officials, particularly the Labour Minister Vincent Wheatley, on the real reason for the extensive delays.

Minister Wheatley previously noted in one instance that due diligence being done on permits has been the main cause of the delay. He said this was in order to ensure that work permits are not issued to expats while locals sit around unable to get jobs in their own country.

It has also been portrayed that there are significant staffing issues within the Labour Department, forcing a backlog of permit applications and the subsequent delay being experienced.

Just recently at a press conference, Premier Andrew Fahie again stated that the unprecedented number of new work permit applications being received by the department was as a result of the unexpected rebounding and resurgence of the BVI’s robust economy, calling it a ‘good-bad problem’ for the territory to have.

“The Minister needs to make up his mind on what it is. But what it is, is mismanagement and his inability to manage this issue and get these employees in place for the businesses to move forward. It is creating additional and undue hardship to businesses who need at this time, critical workforce and the economy that needs that workforce in place to manage a billion-dollar economy that is the BVI,” Penn said.

The Opposition Leader urged that the situation be brought under control and argued that by the time some of the work permits were finally approved, the tourism season would be over and business owners will not be able to staff their operations.