An Opposition Senator yesterday urged Government to look into claims foreigners working as domestics in Bermuda were being mistreated by their
The plight of a Filipino maid reported in The Royal Gazette today was not the first "horror story'' he had heard concerning domestics in Bermuda, Sen.
Milton Scott (PLP) said during the Labour Ministry Budget debate.
Senators took note of several other labour problems in Bermuda during the two-and-a-half-hour debate.
Sen. Scott pointed out non-Bermudians continued to dominate certain job categories which did not require long periods of training. A large proportion of those employed as beauticians, motor cycle mechanics and butchers were foreigners, he noted.
Sen. Alf Ougton (Ind) expressed his "amazement'' that Government sent labour disputes to second and third boards for resolution because the rulings were determined to be unclear.
And he had harsh words for Government allowing employers to pass on the full one-percent hospital levy increase to employees.
It was "just another nail in the coffin of labour relations'', he said, noting the measure was already causing confrontation in the hotels.
Earlier, Parliamentary Secretary for Labour and Home Affairs the Hon. Gerald Simons said the Ministry had undertaken a great deal of work in the past year, including a successful seminar and a series of workshops, to promote good labour relations.
Harmonious labour relations were essential to the Island's economic survival, he said.
But the Labour Relations Office was continuing to deal with job grievances, some of which were referred to its small staff by the Human Rights Commission.
There were 1,020 workdays lost to industrial action last year, he said. He accepted every worker's right to strike, but hoped a time would come when parties would be able to work out differences without having to resort to striking.
A seminar conducted in Bermuda by Michigan State University professors aimed to encourage non-adversarial approaches to labour negotiations.
Mr. Simons noted one job category being increasingly Bermudianised was that of office cleaning -- there were 249 Bermudians compared to 67 non-Bermudians.
In 1993, there were 1,118 registered unemployed, a quarter of whom became employed.
On the issue of health and safety in the workplace, Mr. Simons noted while industrial accidents were rare in Bermuda, the number of Safety Act contraventions jumped from four in 1992 to more than 90 in 1993.
This showed the Government Safety Officer had been "very busy'' making the rounds in an effort to improve safety awareness at job sites.
Managerial and sales jobs had increased, he noted.
And efforts were underway to revitalise the Apprenticeship and Training Council to ensure proper technical skills education was available on the Island.
The number of work permits issued had declined to 5,800 from 10,114, he told Senators.
On a lighter note, Mr. Simons, referring to the 952 marriages in Bermuda last year, remarked: "We are very much a marrying community...I have nothing in my notes dealing with divorce.'' He added that only 399 of those marriages took place in churches. Others happened in the Registry Office, hotels, restaurants, parks, the beach and private homes.
And efforts were underway to computerise Bermuda's birth, death and marriage records, he said.
Sen. Scott said it was critical to labour relations that Government maintain a neutral stance in disputes.
Referring to the report concerning a Filipino maid who felt she had been mistreated by her employers -- forced to work more than 65 hours a week for $500 with no days off, Sen. Scott said Government must strive to protect the rights of all workers in Bermuda.
He had heard many "horror stories'' of conditions domestics on the Island had faced, he claimed.
"Some of the conditions our domestics work in are deplorable,'' he said.
Most of the "guest workers'' were non-unionised and did not feel they had any recourse, he said.
Perhaps the Labour Minister should consider drafting a standard contract for such workers so they know their rights, he suggested.
"I hope this matter will be given some urgency and addressed,'' he said. "It needs to be looked into.'' Sen. Scott said the Labour Relations Council should be meeting more often and that the Labour Relations Office could do with more staff to deal with the 52 visits a month it received from disgruntled workers.
He was concerned some 1,240 new work permits were going to be issued this year.
He wanted to know what assurances the Ministry could give that no Bermudians were qualified or willing to be trained for the jobs.
"Most kids in Bermuda know bikes and how to fix them,'' he said. "It amazes me that in 1994 -- 38 percent of those in the motor mechanics industry are non-Bermudian.
"Beauticians is another area -- 36 percent are non-Bermudian. And around 60 percent of butchers and upholsterers in Bermuda were non-Bermudian.
"In some instances, only a six to 12 month training period is required,'' he said. "We are not talking about a long period for Bermudians to become qualified. We must make a determined effort to employ Bermudians.'' Sen. Scott said there were some figures "floating around'' that there were as many as 2,500 unemployed.
"Who really knows,'' he asked, noting many jobless Bermudians probably had not registered as unemployed.
Sen. Oughton said Government Labour Relations Officer Mr. Edwin Wilson had "won the respect of both trade unions and employers''.
He agreed Government should look at providing the office with more staff.
Pointing to reports quoting US top civil rights activist Dr. Benjamin Hooks that if tourism workers were not happy, the customer ended up suffering, Sen.
Oughton asked: "How frequently has that happened?'' On the issue of second and third board hearings, he wondered why Board chairmen were not asked to explain their ruling instead of going to the expense of another board hearing. Perhaps labour laws needed to be reviewed, he said.
In reply, Sen. Simons said he shared Sen. Scott's concerns about the rights of foreign workers.
The increase in work permits was "good news'' for Bermudians. It meant growth in the economy and employment opportunities for Bermudians as well.