redressing racial imbalances in the workplace, passed in the House of Assembly on Friday night.

Human Affairs and Information Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill introduced the amendment to the current law.

Mr. Dill hinted that another piece of legislation that would, if passed, make racially motivated acts illegal under the criminal code could soon be before the House.

He said the legislation was aimed at "protecting the innocent'' and was part of Government's "comprehensive and broad based'' approach to eliminating racial discrimination.

"We want to send a message that we are doing something,'' he said. "These amendments are not aimed at the hearts and minds of men. They are aimed at discriminating behaviour.'' Overall, Mr. Dill said Government would take more than one approach and tackle the problem on more than one front.

The Human Rights Act, he said, would be the enforcement wing, but there were other measures such as research, and education which also form part of Government's plan.

Once the debate was concluded, nobody would be able to say the Human Rights Commission did not have the teeth it needed, Mr. Dill said.

Shadow Human Affairs Minister Ms Renee Webb said the PLP supported any efforts to fight racism, especially institutional racism.

The Opposition supported past amendments to the Human Rights Act and the recent creation of the Commission on Unity and Racial Equality (CURE).

But Ms Webb questioned where commission members would get the expertise to evaluate special measures intended to relieve hardship or economic disadvantage. What criteria would the commission use in evaluating such programmes? Instead, the onus should be on the company "to know exactly where it discriminates, how it discriminates, and how it can redevelop its policies and programmes to ensure that the particular discrimination that's taking place no longer exists.'' In speaking of relieving hardship and disadvantage, "I can't help but think of the behaviour of Government itself,'' Ms Webb said. Looking at contracts awarded on the Base, for example, "they are white firms and primarily male firms.'' Government was not considering the disadvantaged position of blacks and women in awarding its contracts, she said. Yet the return of the Bases was "an ideal opportunity to show to the Country that we are serious''.

Noting that the report of the trustees of the National Stadium had been tabled in the House, Ms Webb said its seven trustees were all men and only two of them were black.

She welcomed the fact the commission would now be able to initiate investigations without first receiving a complaint.

Ms Webb felt it was "a necessity'' to have compensation for hurt feelings, as provided for in the amendment, but she wondered how it would be determined that someone's feelings had been injured.

"Racism is one of the most debilitating forces that exists in Bermuda,'' and if Government was serious about tackling it, hiking fines to $25,000 from $5,000 did not go far enough, she said. To deter a company making millions in profits, a fine of $250,000 would be more like it.

First, all sectors of society, especially "the perpetrators'', had to realise racism was a problem, she said. Yet in a weekend newspaper that very day, a past president of the Chamber of Commerce said he did "not necessarily believe that racism is an issue in Bermuda''.

One only had to look at the chief executive officers and look at the prisons, she said.

Mr. Stanley Morton (PLP) said all members should be concerned about the bill, "in particular the white members of the United Bermuda Party''.

Mr. Morton wondered what proof would be required to make an allegation of discrimination stick. It was easy for the accuser to say the complainant "has a complex'', or "low self-esteem'', or had misunderstood, he said.

At the same time, frivolous complaints could not be encouraged. "It is very easy and very tempting for anyone to do it out of spite or to embarrass a particular individual or company.'' He agreed that $25,000 was "nothing,'' in terms of a fine.

Mr. Morton said that there could be class divisions in society, even among blacks.

Works and Engineering Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons noted that he brought the first amendment to the Human Rights Act before the House two years ago -- one that extended the Act so it applied to the Crown.

"I'm delighted to be part of this process to bring all Bermudians together on a level playing field,'' he said.

Mr. Ottiwell Simmons (PLP) said he was concerned about two types of discrimination that still were not covered by the Human Rights Act or the latest amendment.

First, "we tend to discriminate on the basis of age,'' Mr. Simmons said.

Recently, "two hotels in this Country have decided to make retirement compulsory'' for people age 65, and possibly for the first time "the employer is being permitted to discriminate against people because of their age.

"What is so magic about 65?'' Mr. Simmons asked.

Bermuda was unlike other countries where early retirement was encouraged, because retirees did not receive large Government benefits. Early retirement was disruptive to the individual, the family, "and possibly the industry'', Mr. Simmons said.

Secondly, there was discrimination on the basis of income, which was "a direct result of racism in Bermuda'', he said.

Quoting from statistics just tabled in the House, Mr. Simmons noted that the average household income for blacks was $990 in 1993, while the average household income for whites was $1,599.

Black people `pay the price' "This is the price that the black man pays for discrimination that's practised against him,'' Mr. Simmons said. "It is dangerously sickening for black people to be having to pay a price in this community as a majority, rather than a minority.'' Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness said he supported everything Mr. Simmons said.

With an aging population, age discrimination was something Government would have to deal with.

The disparity in average household income between whites and blacks was "reflective of what has taken place and what is taking place in a very discriminatory way in our society, particularly in employment'', Mr. Edness said.

Government was giving the commission a "profound power'' to approve special plans to right past wrongs.

That put "a tremendous responsibility on Government,'' to look not only at its own hiring and promotions but to influence the private sector. Every organisation would have to look at itself.

"Once everyone understands it and if they do not react to it and adjust their thinking on who they hire...then obviously they could become guilty of an offence under this law.

"These are profound measures that we have before us.'' As for Ms Webb's comment that the fines were not high enough, Mr. Edness hoped they would not have to be hiked to $50,000 or $100,000. "But if there is an example where some organisation is carrying out an illegal practice and is fined and continues their practice,'' then Mr. Dill "will be back in this House like a shot,'' to rectify the situation.

Government Whip Mr. John Barritt said the amendment was "another step along the path'', and "may not be the last amendment'' to the Human Rights Act.

The commission had closed hearings, and Mr. Barritt was concerned that justice not only be done, but be seen to be done.

While confidentiality had to be protected, more information was needed about how cases were adjudicated, Mr. Barritt said.

Better reporting of cases was needed not "to generate gossip'', but so those coming before the commission knew what the criteria and guidelines were - "how to build a case and in some instances how to avoid a case''.

Mr. Rick Spurling (UBP) said the amendment was evidence of Government's "serious commitment'' to address racism.

He accepted that Bermuda was a black majority country and that the wealth was not equally distributed. But how was a more equitable distribution achieved? The penalties spelled out in the amendment were an important part of the solution, Mr. Spurling said.

"A type of affirmative action will be taken, I'm sure, with the guidance of the Ministry.'' Quoting Bishop Desmond Tutu and noting that there was a lack of bitterness among blacks in South Africa after apartheid was dismantled, Mr. Spurling said: "I hope the black Bermudians and the white Bermudians possess the same quality.'' Mr. David Dodwell (UBP) noted that the amendment was the second part of a three-prong attack on racism. The first was creation of CURE and the third prong would be amendments to the Criminal Code, making racist acts criminal offences.

Referring to questions about the size of penalties, Mr. Dodwell said he hoped "the big stick'' would not be needed. If one was convicted, "the social stigma'' would be a major penalty.

Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira said he has always believed emotions could not be legislated, but the experience in South Africa with apartheid helped him realise Government had to act.

"We had to proceed the way the Minister has proceeded,'' Dr. Terceira said.

It was wrong to say: "We can't legislate people's feelings, so we'll do nothing about it.'' Responding to questions, Mr. Dill said the commission would acquire the expertise it needed through constant upgrading.

Much had been made about the provision for compensation for hurt feelings, Mr.

Dill said. He preferred to call it mental anguish, for that was what it was.

He had not considered that the fines might not be large enough. "In some cases we are moving from $5,000 to $25,000 -- a 500 percent increase,'' Mr.

Dill said. That should be given a chance. Fines would be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Mr. Dill said Mr. Morton had touched on the most difficult aspect of how discrimination should be proven. The standard of proof was normally the balance of probability, he said. That was straightforward with written messages, but more difficult with oral communication.

But courts separated bogus from reliable information, and sometimes oral messages were enough. "There is in fact, Mr. Speaker, no requirement for corroboration in a case of discrimination under the act,'' he said in response to an interpolation.

Mr. Dill said when he was a member of the commission it was contacted about 55 times a month. The commission retained an average of seven complaints a month, while the rest were referred to more appropriate agencies. Today, the figures were 100 contacts a month, with about 20 retained, he said.

Age discrimination "will receive our attention'', Mr. Dill said. If mandatory retirement at age 65 was applied to the House, "very, very soon we could be in some difficulty on both sides''.

For the disparity in income between whites and blacks, there were "any number of reasons and partial explanations'', Mr. Dill said. "But at the end of the day it is a stark, obvious, real disparity that we must focus on.'' The House then moved into committee to consider the bill clause by clause. Mr. Dill said the legislation would protect complainants against recriminations because the Human Rights Commission could investigate without a formal grievance being laid.

However, the Commission would be guided by strict guidelines which would protect against "witch hunts''.

If the complainant has grounds to proceed then the Commission would help them present their case.