The Department of Immigration does not believe that there has been an increase in instances of people working outside of their work permits despite several recent high profile cases.

But Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert has called for tougher sanctions to be brought against employers who allow their non-Bermudian staff to breach their work permits ? including shutting the businesses down.

Assistant Chief Immigration Officer Rozy Azhar said there has not been an increase in the number of people illegally working on the Island or an increase in complaints to the confidential Immigration hotline since the BIU revealed three three Canadian workers were illegally erecting steel on the site of a new Arnold's Market opposite the Shell Gas Station on South Shore Road, Warwick.

The men all had work permits but were doing tasks that were not within the terms of their work permits. The men have since left the Island.

BIU president Chris Furbert said he was pleased that the issue had been dealt with quickly but felt that more should be done to prevent people from working outside the confines of their work permit.

Currently, the Bermuda Immigration & Protection Act states that employers will be penalised of $5,000 for the first offence or three months imprisonment and $500 for every day the offence continues.

Ms Azhar said the Courts usually impose the minimum sentences for immigration infractions, ranging from $300 to $1,000 per offence to both the employee and employer.

The Department also goes a step further when dealing with people who have broken immigration laws, she said.

"The Department has found that ordering the offending person to leave Bermuda immediately and placing them on the stop list at no cost to the taxpayer is as effective as deporting the person at a significant cost incurred by the Government," she said. "In the case of employers, the Department will serve the employer with a letter stating that the Minister is considering not issuing any further work permits to them because of the immigration infractions. This type of sanction is far more damaging to local employers than a $1,000 fine."

But Mr. Furbert said these penalties were not enough. He believes that an offending employer should be immediately shut down.

"When these people are caught their work site should be shut down, they are breaking the law of the land," he said. "The Minister needs to take a look at that.

"Threatening to stop granting them work permits is not enough. They already have 50 work permits, so you're not going to issue them ten more? That's not really going to hurt them. If we shut them down they will make sure their i's are dotted and t's are crossed.

"It sends a message to the employers and people coming in that you need to obey the laws of Bermuda."

Ms Azhar was not available to respond to Mr. Furbert's statements but had earlier said the Department is currently working on legislation that will provide even greater penalties for offending employees and employers.

She added that the Department was also improving their information technology systems. This will allow them to quickly identify visitors and work permit holders who have come to Bermuda and have not left when they were supposed to.

Ms Azhar also corrected reports in the Bermuda Sun drawn from the 2006 Budget that indicated there was an increase in illegal workers.

The Department of Immigration investigated 1,722 complaints in 2005 and asked 60 foreigners to leave the Island, up eight people or 15 percent from 2004. However, Ms Azhar said the figures had been incorrectly analysed.

"The Bermuda Sun incorrectly concluded that the 60 foreigners sent home were directly related to the 1,722 complaints," she said. "Some may have been but certainly not all of them."

She said people are asked to leave the Island for a variety of reasons including people who ask to seek other employment while on the Island.

If their application is refused, then they are asked to settle their affairs and leave Bermuda.