The Premier gave that assurance during a press conference last Friday.

At the time, he explained that there will be a further update with more details from Labour Minister Vincent Wheatley sometime this week.

“One thing I know, that I can say to the public is that [Minister Wheatley] has discussed with us as a government and we’re putting in place, is to make sure that all the backlog of the renewals are cleared up within a month’s time,” Premier Fahie said.

The Premier’s promise of a fix to the longstanding issue comes weeks after a virtual public stakeholders’ meeting held with Acting Labour Commissioner Michelle McLean and Minister Wheatley.

The issue of unprocessed work permit applications — both for new permits as well as renewals — has been a thorny matter for businesses and residents for months, with some business owners complaining that their permit applications had been held up for as many as six months at the Labour Department.

Minister Wheatley previously explained that the backlog was due to staff shortages as well as challenges being faced by staff after the implementation of a new online work permit processing system.

During the stakeholders’ meeting, McLean complained that the now withdrawn online permit system forced staff to duplicate much of their efforts and required that every document processed to be printed, further adding to the already extensive delays.