An outraged foreign waitress has slammed plans to make waiting staff in the Island's hotels and restaurants local only.

And she has been joined by the managing director of an exclusive cottage colony.

German-born Kristina Drews told The Royal Gazette that she felt it was absolutely fair for Bermudians to get jobs first.

However, she added that it bothered her that Bermudians had complained to the Labour Ministry about not getting waiter's jobs they had applied for.

It was these complaints that apparently prompted Labour Minister Quinton Edness to begin planning a waiter training programme involving classroom work and on-the-job experience for Bermudians.

Around 400 of the 600-plus waiting jobs on the Island are currently taken by foreign labour. The category was closed at the end of May -- except in exceptional circumstances where every effort had been made to employ a Bermudian.

"What puzzles me is that if things are so rosy and there are so many people wanting to work, and foreigners are taking work away from locals, then why are employers willing to pay all that money to Immigration for work permits and fight through the red tape to bring foreign waiters in?'' Miss Drews said: "The reality is that employers are not getting any Bermudians applying for these jobs.

"If they were willing to work split shifts, weekends, evenings and holidays then they would be welcome in any operation on the Island.'' Pink Beach Club managing director W.A. (Toppy) Cowen agreed. "Within the last several months we placed numerous ads in our local papers for wait staff. To my knowledge not one person applied.'' He added that he took exception to "dictatorial ministerial proclamations'' that said hotels would be forced to accept six week trainees from the programme.

"For the record,'' said Mr. Cowen, "the management of this cottage colony has no objections to training Bermudians. We do it all the time.'' The training programme for waiters -- which does not exist yet -- sounded like "a crash course'', continued Miss Drews, which would not compete with the standards foreign service staff could bring to the Island.

To even suggest it was "insulting'' to expatriate waiting staff working in Bermuda, she said.

"First off, most of them have two and a half to three years apprenticeship under their belts. The travelling and working adds to their experience.

"I find it insulting and I know other people do also. We are here making money, yes, but we also spend it here. We help to support the community and to be treated like this is like slapping us in the face.

"It is absolutely unnecessary.'' Miss Drews suggested that if Mr. Edness wanted to set up a more effective training programme, he should copy models used elsewhere in the world and install an apprenticeship programme of up to three years.

This would help train Bermudians in all aspects of the industry including food and beverage knowledge, customer service, technical skills and even food preparation.

And in a few years the Island would have its first graduates coming out of the programme and they would be fully trained and ready to secure jobs.

If Bermudians coming out of the training programme were not prepared, she continued, a key Island industry could be at risk.

IMMIGRATION IMM