Construction workers gave a mixed response yesterday to claims that Bermudian builders were lazy and less productive than their counterparts from overseas.

The Royal Gazette went out to some development sites to talk to locals on building projects after three owners of construction firms alleged they could not get enough good Bermudian workers.

The claims followed the announcement that Government was set to pay the developers of the new Berkeley Institute a cash incentive for every Bermudian they hired.

Minister for Works and Engineering Alex Scott has set aside $250,000 for the bonus package, in the hope that it will get more locals in the industry and well-trained.

But each of the three Bermudian owners said the problem was not that companies deliberately hired expat workers instead of Bermudian.

They said locals did not pull their weight, regularly failed to turn up for work, and wanted to do 50 cents worth of work for a dollar's pay.

They said the work ethic on the Island needed to change.

Yesterday, those claims were refuted by general manager of Bermuda Air Conditioning John Plested, who said 80 percent of his staff were local, and as good as anyone from overseas.

He said: "No matter which country you live in, or which company you work for, you will get a percentage of people that don't want to work. You will never get a 100 percent work ethic.

"I think these claims will be a body blow to the people of Bermuda. We have a lot of excellent workers on the Island. They are productive and their work is of very high quality.

"There are more than three construction companies on this Island.'' Bermuda work ethic earns mixed reviews Mr. Plested said he was hoping Bermuda Air Conditioning would win the contract to install equipment into the new school, having put in bids to each of the five general contractors who bid for the $70 million project.

However, he said he disagreed with Government's plan to pay the incentive.

He added: "The incentive to get Bermudians employed does not make financial sense. It's a lot of public money and there is no guarantee that this money will be used for training.

"Immigration is quite clear on the fact that Bermudians should be employed first.'' However, out on the building sites yesterday, opinions were very mixed on the issue.

Maurice Caines, the superintendent of BermudaTech, which is one of the two companies favoured to win the Berkeley job, said he had found both good and bad construction workers.

At the development site of the new building owned by Sir John Swan in Victoria Street, he admitted that he had experienced many problems with Bermudian workers.

Out of a crew of 28 yesterday, two of them expats, nine had not attended work.

Two were off with legitimate injuries, one was away with the Bermuda Regiment, and one was on vacation, but the other five were questionable.

He said that day alone he was down five labourers and four carpenters.

"It's the same problem at all companies,'' he said.

"I would say about two thirds of the crew do the bulk of the work -- we are always having to chase after the other third.

"We offer the opportunity for everybody to work an extra two hours every day, as well as Saturdays and Sundays, but it is the same nine people who do it.

The rest leave as soon as they can.

"There are a number of reasons for it. The expats come here without their families and are happy to work late. They want to make their money and finish the job, but the Bermudians have families and other issues to deal with.'' But he also said schooling, discipline and maturity had something to do with it.

He added: "Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of local workers who are here to give you a professional, legitimate day's work, but then there are others that aren't.'' But Scott Miners, a foreman for Universal Electric Ltd., which is working on the new ACE building on Pitts Bay Road, said he disagreed that Bermudian workers were lazy.

He said: "There are skilled tradesmen in Bermuda and they work just as hard as expats, or even harder.

"There are a lot of tradesmen out there who want to work, but we are far too busy, so we do have to bring in expats. There is too much work for Bermudians to do on their own.'' Mr. Scott has come in for a barrage of criticism over his plans to spend $250,000 of tax payers' money on the incentive scheme.

He claims Bermudians do want to work, but are overlooked by employers who are favouring overseas workers.

He said the two contractors vying for the Berkeley contract had offered to spend the bonus cash on training Bermudian workers.

The Minister said he hoped, as well as providing additional jobs for released prisoners and children leaving school, it would also result in a greater pool of skilled engineers, accountants, and architects on the Island.

Government MP and leader of the Bermuda Industrial Union Derrick Burgess is opposed to the cash bonuses, which will be paid to the contractors, but not the actual workers.

He said companies should be employing Bermudians, anyway.

And as for the claim that Bermudians do not want to work, he admitted that he had heard it said before by employers.

He said there were many people in Bermuda that did want to work, and so said it was wrong to generalise.

Last fall, Mr. Burgess' counterpart in the Bermuda Public Service Association, Ed Ball, went on record, taking Bermuda workers to task over sloppy work attitudes.

Mr. Burgess said yesterday for those who shunned hard work, it was a social problem.

But he added: "You have to wonder, though, are these construction firms paying the rates they should be and are they treating their workers fairly? "Many construction companies in Bermuda are not paying union rates or benefits. Maybe if they did, their employees would feel like giving a hard day's work and some commitment.''