GE gets to terms with Naalakkersuisoq on fast-track

The Greenland Business Community recognizes that the fasttrack scheme for foreign workers works. But it is far from as intended, it says.

The waiting time to get labour to Greenland is still too long, despite the fasttrack scheme, which came into force last September.

This is what the employers’ association Greenland Business says, following on from the fact that naalakkersuisoq has been out defending the scheme.

It still takes a month to process recruitment within the EU and a full 3-5 months to process recruitment from the rest of the world, christian Keldsen, Director of Greenland Business, writes in a communication.

The announcement comes after naalakkersuisut defended the fasttrack scheme on Naalakkersuisut’s website. This is in response to an article in the newspaper Sermitsiaq, where two employers in Greenland criticize the fasttrack scheme for being too slow.

Does not fulfill wishes

About it writes Naalakkersuisut:

Naalakkersuisut acknowledges that companies are frustrated by long waits, but also says that preliminary experience shows that the fasttrack scheme works as intended.

Greenland’s Business Community disagrees with this. The organisation does not believe that the system introduced meets the wishes of the business community:

The system that has been established thus in no way meets the wishes of the business community for a fasttrack scheme, where the expectation has been that the labour could be brought to this country so that they could start their work while the Danish authorities deal with their case. Should the employee be refused, it would be the employer who would have to arrange for the employee in question to be returned as soon as possible, writes Christian Keldsen.

Requires change in the Aliens Act

Naalakkersuisut states that if a scheme is to be made where people can enter and start working immediately, it will require a change in the Immigration Act. Naalakkersuisut is in dialogue with the Danish authorities about this.

Referring to the lack of manpower, the work can only go too slowly, christian Keldsen believes:

If there is a need for a change in the law, the Greenland Business Community must strongly encourage Naalakkersuisut to ensure momentum in this dialogue so that the change in the law can take place as soon as possible. The business shortage of labour is acute and requires action now, he writes.

The original article can be found on the Sermistiaq AG news website