Best bet is to work abroad; not SVG

EDITOR: Our son, who has a degree in construction engineering and a good job abroad, recently inquired about the prospects of returning to St Vincent and the Grenadines to work on one of the many proposed or existing foreign investor resort projects on the main island or in the Grenadines. A few weeks ago, I might have had an answer. Now, I just have questions.

  If he is working for a foreign investor and is injured on the job, is he qualified for Government disability, or workers compensation if he is unable to work, because his employer is a foreign investor? If he is terminated without cause, can he expect the Department of Labour to be of any assistance, or will he have to hire a lawyer on his own and sue? Does the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines have any authority to intercede on behalf of citizens employed by foreign investors, for example, in the area of enforcement of safety and health regulations, or does the Government simply choose to abdicate that power, as seems to have been done in the recent past?

  My best advice is, keep your job, work hard for promotion, and don’t look to return to St Vincent and the Grenadines any time soon. Your prospects here are, sadly, uncertain at best.

 William Green