Haitians, Jamaicans and Guyanese nationals are being “trafficked” into Trinidad and Tobago under the cover of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME). They are being rapidly absorbed by registered private security firms.
Estate Police Association President Eddison Munro, right, and General Secretary David Webber at the association’s office in Piarco, Trinidad
This was the claim made by the Estate Police Association General Secretary David Webber, who said that, in many instances, the passports of the “trafficked” persons were seized, leaving them at the mercy of their employers. Webber said field research indicated about two years ago that there was an influx of illegal nationals into the security industry. He said many of them were duped into believing they were entering T&T as tradesmen, which was permitted by the CSME.
“In recent times, we have seen them coming in as tradesmen — like masons and carpenters, but there is no work for them, so they end up in security companies. We know for a fact that some of these companies – and we know of a few – are in fact registering them as tradesmen so they could get work permits for them, but put them instead to work as security officers,” Webber revealed. “The work permit they would have been given is not for them to perform the duties of the security officer. They are operating in the country illegally.”
He said that, to avoid detection, owners of security companies would send a representative to do the registration of work permits. Describing the situation as well orchestrated, Webber said there were “scouts” working with the private security firms to source outside labour. He said that, in some instances, advertisements were placed promising “good pay and perks”. Once in Trinidad, however, the Caricom nationals are placed in “safe houses” with minimal comforts and conveniences. “They are charged a hefty sum for room-and-board, so that these people are working for next to nothing. They are paid below the minimum wage and are virtually slaves.
“It is our information that there is one ‘safe house’ in San Juan and one in Fyzabad,” Webber said. He said one of the ploys for the illegal nationals to avoid being detected by the authorities was making them work only night shifts. “The companies hide them during the day and only bring them out at night, when the potential for them being identified is less. The officers are also instructed not to talk to anyone, because their accents would give them away,” Webber added.
He identified a popular mall along the east/west corridor where only foreign nationals, including people from Nigeria and Ghana, are hired. “There is a particular company where only Africans were hired. When we investigated, they were engaging the services of Nigerians who came through Moruga by entering the country illegally, and (they were placing them) to work by a company who had the contract for the mall.”
Extortion methods
Firms “trafficking” these foreign nationals charge exorbitant fines, which the association has deemed illegal. “If there is a family emergency and the officer left work, or did not come to work, and no call was made to the employer, there is a $150 fine. Fines are also imposed for reaching to work late.
Regulate security industry
The culprits who bring in the foreign nationals, Webber charged, are “low-end” security firms that comprise the bulk of the private protective service industry. Describing the industry as virtually self-regulatory, Webber said repeated appeals and proposals to government to implement proper legislation have not been heeded.
Webber said. He said that, in 2008, a committee chaired by Prisons Commissioner John Rougier, which also included representatives from members of the Immigration Department, Customs and Excise Authority and the Police Service, drafted a policy on regulating the private security industry.
“We submitted the policy to government and that was it, we are still waiting word. The state has a policy to ensure the industry was properly regulated. If it was, then this nonsense about trafficking would not have arisen, because there would have been frequent checks,” Webber said.
There are some 400 security companies registered with the Legal Affairs Ministry. How many are in actual operation is another issue, since some of the firms have ceased to exist but are still on the books.
Webber called on the Trinidad government to reveal how many companies were actually given approval by the national security minister under the provisions of the Supplemental Police Act to operate, since a provision exists that demands all security companies must get approval from that ministry. He said that out of the 400 firms, less than 100 were actually granted approval by the ministry to operate. People wanting to start a security company have found a way to beat the system.
“They simply register the company without getting approval from the National Security Ministry and start to operate. It’s that easy,” Webber said. He said there are about 300 unregistered security companies in T&T and about 55,000 private security officers. Webber said that, out of that figure, between 6,000 and 7,000 are “trafficked” or illegal nationals.
“We have now found that a lot of the recognised companies are going the illegal way of sourcing these people,” Webber said. Competition among security companies to source labour has led to firms competing with government agencies like CEPEP for workers. (Trinidad Guardian)
