The Department of Immigration has put a temporary freeze on work permit applications for construction companies until all former Berkeley Senior School workers have found new employment.

The move has led to confusion in the industry as to how many workers are currently unemployed and what skills these workers hold. Industry leaders fear delays or disruptions of work given high current demand for construction work.

On Monday, Chief Immigration Officer Dr. Martin Brewer announced the freeze in an email to the Chamber of Commerce and the Bermuda Employers' Council.

“Your members who are affected by this temporary suspension of applications can help by contacting the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Training and Employment section in the Department of Labour and Training to find Bermudians who are seeking work and are registered with them,” the email said.

Dr. Brewer told The Royal Gazette that once all employees who worked at the senior school site had come forward and said they had found work the freeze would be lifted.

Yesterday, neither the Department of Labour and Training not the BIU could say how many Bermudian construction workers had been affected by the closure of the school project.

The Royal Gazette understands that at least 130 people were employed by Pro-Active to work on the trouble-plagued senior secondary school, but it is not certain how many of those workers were Bermudian.

Dr. Brewer said he did not know how many local construction tradesmen were currently unemployed: “We think it could be a lot”, he said.

BIU president Derrick Burgess also did not have the numbers at hand but said they could be produced and that the Immigration freeze was a necessity.

Mr. Burgess said the BIU and the Ministry of Works and Engineering can supply names of workers in search of jobs to any companies in need.

“When you have a group of people who have been left unemployed, it is in the interest of Bermuda to ensure those people are employed first,” he said.

But industry officials seem at a loss to determine who is actually seeking work.

Construction Association president Mel Wright said he felt the freeze could pose big problems for the industry.

“If it doesn't get resolved quickly there could be major problems,” he said. “Labour and Training and the BIU have been very co-operative, however, the demand on construction at the moment is very heavy. There are a number of projects going on across the Island.”

Mr. Wright said while Bermudians are qualified in general areas of the construction industry, demand is higher for workers in electrical, mechanical and dry wall trades.

Mr. Wright said the high demand in the industry means Bermudians have had no problem finding work.

Executive director of the Bermuda Employers Council Andrea Mowbray said she had not been provided with a list of names or numbers of Bermudian workers.

“The Department of Labour and Training did not know who they were or have any list,” she said. “One member told me that he went around to the BIU and was told that they did not have time to produce one.”

Ms Mowbray said she expected quite a few of the Bermudian workers had already been absorbed by Works and Engineering or found other employment.

On behalf of companies represented through the BEC, she is requesting a list from Immigration so local companies can go through the potential pool of employees, and Government can check the qualifications against work permit applications.

Diane Gordon, president of the Chamber of Commerce said the chamber was waiting for a response from Immigration to its concerns, but declined to discuss these in detail.

“We have definitely addressed our concerns to the Department of Immigration and Labour and Training,” she said.

One construction company owner, who declined to be named, said the ban puts a strain on business and could have serious implications.

Currently, the business has under a dozen work permit applications submitted with Immigration and is depending on them to have several construction projects completed in the near future.

“It puts a strain on us because the union is not telling us what employees they have to offer or the qualifications they hold,” she said.

“The Island is very busy at the moment. People are booking construction projects a year or two in advance and there is a demand for people who are skilled in a specialised trade. This could set things back quite a bit in a domino effect. We have three major projects in the works. We're a small company so, if we can't get the business done, we can lose business as our clients may go to a larger company.”

She added that not one person who was employed at Berkeley had approached the company in search of work.