Collecting information on race is divisive and could hamper attempts to create racial harmony in the workplace, a powerful business organisation believes.

For the first time, the Government included the question of race in its Employment Survey in order to discover if disparities existed within the workforce.

However, the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce has formally objected to the questions being included on the survey, although it acknowledges that regulations require businesses to complete the form.

In a letter to Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul, the Chamber's executive board said: "It is the view of the Chamber that information about race is not relevant to one's employment and should therefore not be collected by employers and certainly not maintained on personal records.

"Collecting such information, we feel, is divisive, goes against the spirit of the Human Rights Act and undermines efforts being made by employers to promote anti-discriminatory practices and create racial unity.'' Members of the executive are due to meet Dr. Saul and the Human Affairs Minister, the Hon. Jerome Dill, tomorrow to discuss the issue.

Originally called the Manpower Survey, the name was changed to the Employment Survey last May. It is sent out to about 4,000 employers and self-employed people on the Island.

When Government announced the question of race would be included, Mr. Dill said he felt there was a need to develop an accurate picture of the workforce.

He was quoted as saying that the question of whether racial groups were given equal opportunities in jobs had become a crucial issue in Bermuda.

Yesterday, Ms Carolyn Mello, the Chamber's executive vice-president, said the organisation had registered many concerns from members.

"The meeting is a matter of us communicating the concerns of the business community to the Government,'' she added.

Last night Dr. Saul said he disagreed with the fears voiced by the Chamber, adding that he was surprised by the reaction. He said no other organisation had complained about the survey.

"I do not believe what they are saying and no-one in Parliament believes that either. We have carried out a census every ten years and asked the question of race and no-one complained about that,'' added Dr. Saul.

He said the Government needed to gather as many facts and data as possible in order to make the correct decisions.

SLOW SUMMER -- Bermuda's air arrivals slumped again last week , falling almost six percent compared with the same week last year. Cruise arrivals grew by 3.4 percent last week. Overall, 1995 has seen a 3.5 percent decline in arrivals.

The chart shows total air arrivals for the previous 52 weeks, which demonstrates that arrivals over the last year have totaled slightly more than 400,000 -- well below the high in the last four-and-a-half years of more than 420,000, registered late last year.