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Hon. Pickering takes responsibility for Maynard’s removal

- Says too many complaints were pointing in her direction
Hon. Pickering speaking to residents last evening, January 19. 2012. Photo: VINO
Oleanvine Maynard has been transferred within the Ministry, though her position is unclear.
Oleanvine Maynard has been transferred within the Ministry, though her position is unclear.
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Too many complaints were pointing in the direction of the now former Labour Commissioner Oleavine Maynard which prompted the Minister for Natural Resources and Labour to have her replaced.

At a community meeting held last evening January 19, 2012 at the East End Long Look Community Centre, the always candid Dr. Kedrick Pickering told the packed Centre he highlighted the issue to his Cabinet colleagues and admitted it was his decision to have Maynard removed.

“I took the responsibility as the Minister. I brought it to my colleagues [and said] look this is the situation, we got too many complaints...if I am to move forward I have to make a decision to move the Labour Commissioner. I take full responsibility for it,” Dr. Pickering disclosed. His statement was received with a loud applause.

Janice Rymer has since replaced Maynard as acting Labour Commissioner for less than a month now, and according to Hon. Pickering, so far he has not received any complaints.

Hon. Pickering first indicated the changes in the Labour Department on December 19, 2011 during a House of Assembly (HOA) sitting. He had stated that the Department that is responsible for the Labour force in the Territory will be restructured for greater efficiency starting from the top.

“...which translates to the reassignment of the [Janice Rymer] Deputy Secretary in the Ministry to the Labour Commissioner post and Labour Commissioner [Oleanvine Maynard] to the Ministry,” the Minister had stated.

He also noted that it’s his ambition to have the Ministry for Natural Resources and Labour to be the best Ministry, and that is one of reasons for the meeting is to listen to residents’ concerns and recommendations.

In reeling out the statistics in the labour force, Hon. Pickering revealed that at the moment 60 percent of the work force is non Virgin Islanders. And while the figures are unsettling, the Labour Minister plans to fix it.

28 Responses to “Hon. Pickering takes responsibility for Maynard’s removal”

  • billy b (20/01/2012, 07:19) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Great Job Pickering, but how exactly did you remove her, by fork-lift or bulldozer? I don't see how VIP could have turned a blind eye after we made so many complaints
  • Big Bird (20/01/2012, 07:20) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Tis interesting after they all clime that they have nothing to do with the civil service...Typically NDP speaking with two sides of them mouth! Now you see all those moves are moves done by the politicians ALL.
    • Crank Shaft (20/01/2012, 10:08) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      How you get so stupid? He didn't fire Maynard, she was reassigned !!! There's a difference! A politician cannot fire a civil servant unless they go through the right channels i.e. HR, DGO, PSC etc. Stop talking out of your backs..de you nuissance! It's his Ministry and he has the right to designate who he thinks fit to run the departments. The woman is not out of a job, she was simply assigned to a new task!
  • whatIthink (20/01/2012, 07:57) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    60% of the workforce is non-local! So what we are saying is that all the development we are planning on - the airport, the golf course and so on - which will create more and more jobs will result in us being flooded by non-BVIslanders? We are developing the BVI - clogging our roads, schools, physical infrastructure, clinics, hospital - so we can provide employment to the nationals of other countries? I have friends from other islands who were complaining of being under-employed during the VIP time. They left their country which did not provide them with employment to come here and are now feeling entitled to have a job here. But our legislators don't seem to realize that more development=more jobs=BVIslanders becoming even more of a minority. Why not improve on what we have now? Fix our roads, schools, etc., cancel some work permits and provide employment for our people, before all these grandiose plans?
    • Crank Shaft (20/01/2012, 10:16) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      My dear friend, I teel your pain, to an extent! However, I'm a believer in that when you talk, TALK ALL! Now, you talk about being outnumbered, but let's take it further! Who benefits in the grand scheme of things? I'll tell you who, BVISLANDERS!! Who do these outsiders rent their apartments from? Whose supermarkets do these outsiders shop? Whose establishments do these locals work for? Who owns the bars where there are 5-6 women non-bvislanders working? Who are the ones filing for permits by the dozens? Who are the ones able to sex off the women or keep people hostage by threatening to take away their sponsorship, permit etc.? The last time I checked, the people who have the power to do this are BVIslanders. So, my friend, if you want to see this trend reverse, speak to your fellow brothers and sisters who are facilitating the influx of 'others'. There are many locals who want jobs to to say that development is not for locals is foolish. Many locals depend on construction, taxi, villa, apartment rentals etc. for their daily bread, so it's needed. But when people get greedy and look for slaves as oppposed to workers, that's what happens. The BVI has a long standing policy that any BVIslander wanting to start a business or import labour should never be hampered, they should be allowed to do so. Now that they've flooded the market with outsiders you complain? Don't even talk about those who have trade licenses just for so, no real business, but have 6 people here sponsored and living. Where are they working? HOw are they living? Do they have a conscience? I have nothing against expats, I have many of them as good friends, but its principle. You can't want the good and leave the bad! I wish Labour could release the stats so we can see that its our own ruining our country. Every corner is a piling ping ping bar, check who really own it behind the scenes!
      • whatIthink (20/01/2012, 12:34) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
        Crankshaft - I invite you to take a look around. A lot of these apartment buildings that you are talking about being rented out do not actually belong to Virgin Islanders. Near me the two biggest buildings are owned by a Kittician and and a Vincentian. In Road Town, a stroll through Main Street from Upper to Lower would reveal that at least half of all the businesses are not owned or even staffed by Virgin Islanders. But I get your point. You're saying that Virgin Islanders also benefit from high migration levels but what you are talking of is largely the profits to be realized to Virgin Islanders by opening their country and providing jobs for all from wherever. You have not spoken at all to the social implications inherent in being a country when the natives are outnumbered by at least two to one. These are the kinds of issues that other countries facing the influx of high numbers of migrants are dealing with - the UK, the US, Italy and, closer to home, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. The latest Census for which we have reliable figures indicated that Virgin Islanders were, on average, having one child while people from the other islands had, on average, three children. So yes, we can continue this headlong rush to "development" and "progress" but what is it going to cost us socially and culturally? Can we say that the unbridled "come one, come all" policies of the past have resulted in our over-crowded schools and in a consequent deterioration of our education system? (Fiscal mismanagement and corruption also played their part here, of course but my point is that we focused on "development" and forgot about our social and physical infrastructure which is now biting us in the tush and our response seems to be to bring in even more development which will result in more migrants which will result in the problems continuing to spiral away from us.) Our sewage system has broken down and will cost us millions to fix but, never mind, let's build a bigger runway so we can bring in thousands more people and quickly overburden whatever fixes we put in place. Neither, of course, have you at all touched on the environmental cost of an expanded airline, more and more resorts, more golf courses and so on. Those developments do not only carry their own direct costs to the environment (which let's face it, is what attracts our visitors in the first place) but they carry costs as we build more roads, import more cars, allow more vendors to crowd the streets in the capital and at our beaches, and continue to build more houses and apartment buildings which flout the rules set down by Town and Country Planning. Every time it rains, several of our bays become mudpools because of poor engineering and poor construction practices. Every time that happens, our coral reefs and mangroves die a little more and the wildlife which the tourists come to see - the fish, the turtles, etc. - decline. We are killing the goose that laid the golden egg of tourism but we seem not to mind that. Or do you think that lightning will suddenly strike and we will begin to enforce our physical planning act and all the other pieces of legislation that are currently being ignored and will only grow worse as the population continues its dramatic climb?
        • Crank Shaft (20/01/2012, 14:55) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
          I'm not arguing with you at all my friend, all that you have said is true. But it goes back to my point, who's allowing this? People from St Kitts and other islands have been here since the 60s before the BVI was on the economical map, so one would expect them to own something. Same with some of the Serians, they been here for decades so again, they own stuff. However, my point remains! I can speak from personal experience, over and over! Locals facilitating the issuance of permits not one at a time, but by the dozens and in many cases it's just favours, there are no jobs for these people, especially the woomen that they bring to work bars etc. I agree with all your points regarding environment, social ills etc. but again, what are we doing to stop it? The BVI is a place where over 800,000 companies are registered, the most in the entire world, yet we are only 24sq miles. We can't expect to benefit from growth and economical benefits without getting some of the bad. That's the sad reality! What we need to do also is get our people trained in the technical fields. I'm a local and as much as I support my own, if I look to start certain businesses now I will have no choice but to seek employees overseas! If I want to start a charter company (yacht), woodwork shop, a/c repair business, bodyshop, nail spa, hair dresser. How many locals can I hire? So what I'm saying is, we have locals who want to own these businesses and they have to hire outsiders. Until we get our act together nothing will change. No Government can force us to pull up our socks. It's too long now we are depending on the government's breast. Taking a govt. job doing the same thing year afte ryear, passing time so that when your 25th year hits, you're set for life! That's what's happening here. The point is, commerce is huge and the place is small...If we get rid of all the trust companies, law firms etc., which will result in a ripple domino effect on other businesses, the problem wiill be solved as many will return home leaving us here, but is that what you want?
  • blame the main cause (20/01/2012, 08:14) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    and its not sixty percent its more like 70
  • ooooo (20/01/2012, 08:46) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    mrs maynard dont feel no way, every dog has his day...vip will take care of you when they get back in
  • How come? (20/01/2012, 09:32) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    How come they aint move lizzette and her department has gotten the most complaints? is it because she an NDP?
    • Crank Shaft (20/01/2012, 12:51) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Stop tell lies! The complaint wasn't Trade itself, but the fact that when they processed the applications they went to Premier's Office for sign off, that's where the delay was. Trade itself has some issues but most delays were due to the Premier having to sign off which makes no sense to me. If it's approved its approved, why does it have to go through two different departments?
  • enough (20/01/2012, 09:41) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    dr. pickering that was the best thing ever done yet by this administration. my prayer and hope is that the new ag labour commissioner will not allow friendship with employers or persons in HR positions within the different firms to cloud her judgement. THere are many companies who are exploiting and harrasing BVIslanders that must be dealt with immediately.
  • Jog (20/01/2012, 09:45) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    come on bloggers. Dr. P. is the only one we see doing something to improve his Ministry, if someone isnt doing well and everyone is complaining about it why would you keep them on??? If we are going forward for the better we have to listen to staff and public who encounter these civil servants daily.
  • RK (20/01/2012, 09:50) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    to 0000. Swell. one dog had their day already.
  • Jigga (20/01/2012, 10:05) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    We are watching for consistency in the message given here. However, I fully and wholeheartedly support the minister in what is perceived to be his quest to facilitate employment for Virgin Islanders and the protection of rights of all employed i.e. locals and expatriates, in a way that it was not being achieved before. Doc, I know you good for it and you stand strong for what you believe. This is the reason why people respect you.
  • Crank Shaft (20/01/2012, 10:06) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Now that's a REAL MAN!!!
  • Hmmmm... (20/01/2012, 10:50) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Complaints are being made on other Government departments what is the Minister responsible for those departments doing. I know for a fact that complaints are being made about Immigration both from the public and officers. What is the Premier doing to rectify this problem?
    • fmp (20/01/2012, 11:20) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Complaints have also been made on some department heads of Communications & Works, but the action man refuses to take action. That why I respect the good doctor of the 7th. He isnt hiding behind any PS or DPS frocktail. He is up front in his decision-making
  • Skeptic (20/01/2012, 11:07) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    This woman needs to be prosecuted for her gross mismanagement. Selling out her own country imagine your own people cant find work in there country but people from half way around the world can come here and find jobs with such ease. Destroying the labour force with cheep labour. Dr you did the right thing firing her a$$. 
    • talk that (20/01/2012, 15:40) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      stop chat piss and ask Mr. Pickering to relase the infomation on the complains
  • persia (20/01/2012, 16:03) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    at least Pickering got balls to admit it was he who move her but Myron say he aint had nothing to do with the school sign removal...
  • virgin islands born (20/01/2012, 17:46) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    they better back off Ms. Maynard. She born here and cannot take a plane to Cuba!
  • next (21/01/2012, 08:07) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    So who else he and the NDP has on their list to move?
    • Who next? (21/01/2012, 09:45) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Based on what I've seen, if you incompetent, too bias or generally doing a poor job in your management position you're fair game
  • james bridgewater (22/01/2012, 18:35) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    What is happening here?


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