Barbadians interested in securing work in the agriculture industry in the United States are a step closer to achieving that goal.
This disclosure has come from Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo, who met yesterday with executive director of Florida East Coast Travel Services, Joseph Hobbs, and colleague Perry Wells, who are here on a two-day recruitment drive for the H2A (agriculture) programme.
Byer-Suckoo said recruiters were looking for 200 to 300 Barbadian men between the ages of 21 and 40 to pick apples and vegetables along the east coast from Virginia to Maine until November.
She was pleased Barbadians would again find employment with the programme.
“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity. It is not a new programme to Barbados as one of the recruiters said he was here in the [1980s] and [1990s] and [I know that] many Barbadians were able to make a living for their family through it,” she stated.
Byer-Suckoo explained that the US Department of Homeland Security had been scrutinising the migrant labour programme to ensure it was conforming to federal regulations and international standards.
“We will make sure we comply with regulations set out before us and we will do what we have to do. . . We looked at what was required of us in this programme and we will endeavour to do things the right way and through the right channels,” Byer-Suckoo added. (BGIS)
