MORE people could soon be arrested as the Ministry of Labour continues to clamp down on employment agencies in breach of the terms and conditions of the Employment Agency Regulation Act. Seven people have so far been sentenced to prison.

"There are four others being investigated and actually, I have been told that at least one of the four has so far been arrested," Barrington Bailey, director of the ministry's manpower services division told JIS News.

He said the agencies were brought before the courts for several reasons, including overcharging people, collecting money and having no approval for jobs, as well as operating without a licence.

During the latter half of 2005, the ministry embarked on a sensitisation programme to encourage employment agencies to adhere to its rules and regulations. Bailey said that under that initiative, "we have done news releases, we have been on talk show programmes outlining what the requirements are, and we have officers who visit employment agencies randomly to advise them of the requirements of the law and give them the required application forms so that they can register."

Meanwhile, Bailey urged job seekers who use the service of these agencies to be on the look out for illegal operators and report them to the ministry.

"All illegal operators are issued with a licence from the ministry and it comes in a certificate form and should be prominently displayed in the organisation. Once you enter in such an organisation you should see it and once you don't see it, you should ask fot it," Bailey said.

Currently, there are two types of employment agencies - those authorised to place people in jobs overseas and those that carry out local job placements. There are 16 agencies authorised to place people in jobs overseas and 32 authorised to do local job placements.
For people wishing to establish employment agencies, Bailey is advising them to ensure they follow legal procedures.

"Persons who wish to operate employment agencies must ensure they have the proper approval from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and they can contact the 1F North Street office to get the relevant documents. For the job seekers, do not pay money to anyone whether they are employees of the ministry or members of the public," Bailey urged.

He also emphasised that the ministry did not charge a placement fee for jobs, and people approved for the Overseas Work Programme were asked to pay for their visas at designated venues.

"No money is received or accepted by the ministry for any of its programmes, so job seekers should be aware that they should not pay to anyone, who approaches saying they are from the ministry and they want money. If this happens, they should call the police. Do not pay any money," Bailey emphasised.

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS

Pepper Pot