Opposition MP Neville Darrell has filed a human rights complaint alleging discrimination against Bermudian applicants for the post of College president.

The Human Rights Act, which provides for public interest complaints, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, national origin, religion and political belief in the areas of housing, employment and the provision of goods and services.

Mr. Darrell said he had filed the complaint because a number of the applicants for the post were College staffers.

“To some extent it was not unusual that the applicants would not have come forward themselves,” he said.

“This way provides an opportunity to look into the procedures at the College and it also provides protection against any acts of reprisals for individuals who may want to get involved in the work of the Commission so I think it's the best way of moving forward for everyone.”

Mr. Darrell said that complaints of racism and discrimination at the College had already been unearthed but there had been no follow up by the College authorities and many of the issues were still outstanding.

On Friday, Finance Minister Paula Cox reminded the House of Assembly that she had commissioned consultant Edwin Wilson to look into the College's human resources practices and procedures following widespread concerns.

Mr. Wilson's conclusion that much of the College's human resources practices left much to be desired was agreed to in a “general sense” by the College.

“The processes involved have been historically flawed, and regrettably are not much improved today. There are glaring inconsistencies that remain in the hiring policies - and those policies that do exist are rendered impotent by an equally long history of non-compliance,” said the College in its official response to the 2002 Wilson report.

“Essentially it sounds as if the Wilson Report recommendations were not acted upon,” Mr. Darrell said yesterday.

“Should the Human Rights Commission take this complaint on then certainly under the Act they also have statutory powers to impose a remedy.”

Mr. Darrell's complaint centers around revelations that Bermudian applicants for the post of College president were treated differently from overseas applicants. In a response to parliamentary questions Government has admitted that local applicants were treated differently “because selection panel members did not ‘feel comfortable' interviewing their peers”.

Of the selection panel's eight members, five interviewed the foreign applicants while only three - none with tertiary or post-graduate experience - interviewed the Bermudian applicants. It is understood that five Bermudians had applied for the post. “The law doesn't allow us to say whether a complaint has been filed,” said the HRC's Executive Officer David Wilson when asked to comment on Mr. Darrell's complaint.

As to the process involved when a complaint is filed, Mr. Wilson said that it would first have to be determined if the complaint is genuine. “Sometimes it's very obvious that it appears to be genuine. On the other hand it may not be so obvious.”

He added that even if an HRC officer determines if a complaint is genuine, the Commission would have to give permission to launch an investigation.

The Opposition United Bermuda Party has called for an independent inquiry into Human Resource management practices at the College, and challenged the HRC to launch a public interest inquiry into the selection procedure of the College president.

But, despite voluminous press coverage, the HRC said that the matter had not been brought to their attention.