in yesterday's House of Assembly debate, with MPs passing the amended race reporting rules after the original plans were rejected by the Senate.

If the amended bill is approved by the Senate, companies would start collecting information from September 1, 2000 and report to CURE on August 31, 2001 and every year during the review period.

The House adopted five of the seven suggested changes to the CURE regulations, but decided to keep the controversial form four.

The Bermuda International Business Association had suggested that the form, which asks for hiring, firing and promotional information, only be required for companies whose form three indicated severe racial imbalance.

Government compromised by dropping questions about training and transfers from form four, but Development and Opportunity Minister Terry Lister said further watering down of the rules would destroy the point of CURE.

"The historical legacy of racism in Bermuda has been plaguing us for far too long,'' Mr. Lister said at the beginning of yesterday's debate.

"And few would dispute the fact that there are inequalities and, in fact, stark differences, between the races in Bermuda right now. Surveys have shown that most Bermudians feel the single, greatest source of that racism is to be found in the work place. So now I think it's time we tacked that single greatest source.'' But the form remained a subject of contention between the parties, with Shadow Development and Opportunity Minister Allan Marshall saying that, while CURE was part of the UBP's soul because it introduced the legislation, the form took a "guilty until proven innocent'' stance toward all companies.

"They all do form three, so why punish those companies doing the right thing and forcing them to complete form four,'' he asked.

"We tried to tell the Minister that more consultation was needed and maybe he has learned a lesson that consultation throughout the community is surely the way forward.'' And he said companies in the US would "go nuts'' if regulations similar to CURE were forced upon them there.

Mr. Marshall also suggested that perhaps the regulations should be restricted only to companies awarded Government contracts, as is the practice in America.

He called on Government to follow the example of some US states by ensuring that its work force complied with CURE, then requiring private companies wishing to do business with Government to meet the same standards.

"The view is that the Minister should ease up,'' Mr. Marshall said. "Drop the form four until it is absolutely necessary.

He also said many people had the impression that the CURE regulations would address any imbalances between Bermudian and expatriate workers. He said any statistics should include such data as well as information on male and female employees.

Mr. Marshall also expressed concern that only companies with more than ten employees would be subject to scrutiny by CURE. He claimed that if equality was the issue, all companies should be included in the initiative.

For coverage of yesterday's debate see Page 4 MPs pass CURE bill PLP MP Delaey Robinson responded to concerns about the amount of red tape created by the forms.

"We're more concerned about the cost of filling out form four than the human cost,'' he said.

"One is far more detrimental than the other. What we need to find out is if (racial problems) exist, because some people say they don't. So we have to do some meaningful measuring to find out.'' And he said that information on gender would "immediately double the paperwork'' and that Government was tackling the issue "one small step at a time''.

Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson appeared to concur.

"Who can stand against collecting information is beyond me,'' he said.

"The establishment, those who wish to maintain the status quo, want to downplay the aspirations of those who desire justice.'' But when he suggested that the UBP was not in favour of the CURE legislation, Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon accused Mr. Hodgson of misleading the House.

"The United Bermuda Party supports the CURE legislation,'' she said. "It is the fourth form that we are concerned about.'' And she said that CURE was not the fix-all to the Island's racial problems.

"Is (CURE) going to correct the anomaly?'' she asked.

Terry Lister