Delays in processing work permits have stinted the effectiveness of "fast track" work permits, employers have claimed.

Employers Council executive director Andrea Mowbray said that when they were introduced, three-month temporary work permits were useful as they could assist employers in emergencies. In urgent need, an employer could bring in an employee quickly.

However, she said that since the Immigration Department began recommending that employers apply for "fast track" work permits given delays in processing regular work permits, the "fast track" system has become "clogged".

She said that when Immigration first advised employers to apply for the temporary three-month work permits, the process was fast, but now all work permits take a long time to process.

Ms Mowbray said it took more than a month to process three-month temporary work permits and around six months to process one to five-year work permits.

And she said the solution was for the Immigration Department to meet its own deadlines.

The Royal Gazette understands that one and five-year work permits should take four to six weeks to process while "fast track" three month temporary permits should take five to eight working days.

"If Immigration has removed the fast track capability then they should inform the public," Ms Mowbray added.

In a press conference last Friday Minister of Labour Home Affairs Terry Lister said people were operating under the misconception that there is a special fee for fast tracking an application.

The Minister was responding to claims by his shadow counterpart, Patricia Gordon-Pamplin that it was fraudulent if people were paying for "fast track" applications that were not fast.

Mr. Lister said: "The employer pays the normal fee for a three-month temporary work permit. There is no additional fee based on the rapidity with which an application is processed."

"The processing of a three-month temporary work permit is referred to as `fast track' because the temporary permit can be processed faster than a standard work permit. However, where an outside body has to be consulted, a delay of up to two weeks will necessarily ensue."