Work term limits will not be scrapped and shops in Hamilton should open later in the evening to capture the trade of cruise ship visitors and others.

Premier Ewart Brown made those assertions as he addressed more than 200 business leaders at the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce.

He was challenged on both issues during a 45-minute open floor question and answer session that followed. The issue of work term limits was raised by outgoing chamber president Peter Everson, who called on Government to lead from the front by cutting its workforce by five percent and therefore reduce the need for up to 300 work permits across the economy as a whole.

“One of the issues most frequently raised is competition for staff. The numbers released this year make for stark reading. In 2006 there were 39,600 working people, of those only 27,300 were Bermudian,” he said. “The largest employer in Bermuda is the Government, which together with its related entities, employs over 6,000 people. The Government employs a greater percentage of Bermudians.

“The term limits policy is having a big impact on our members, one in every two work permit holders leaves Bermuda within the first two years of employment. These people tend to include those staff members who contribute to the success of their business regardless of their position within the business — they work in the engine rooms of our businesses. These people can obtain jobs anywhere and sadly we have had feedback from our members of these strong employees leaving, this reduces efficiency and increases our costs.”

Mr. Everson warned: “In an economy growing as rapidly as Bermuda this leads to an increase in inflation. Our members have devoted an enormous amount of energy and time for dialogue with Government and other stakeholders to improve work force training, education and other related matters. “We have continued to impress upon Government the responsibility they have as the largest employer in Bermuda. “If they can improve the efficiency with which they utilise labour by five percent this would have a meaningful impact, this would lead to 300 fewer work permits, 300 fewer people needing accommodation and also reducing the cost of Government to the tax payer.”

During the open floor questions the Premier heard from others who said term limits were burdening businesses.

He responded: “The Government will not look at dropping the policy (term limits). We have had talks with the leaders in business in Bermuda and there are those who understand and are prepared to work with the Government’s policy.”

He spoke of Government’s new programme called “Goodwill Plus” to match up Bermudians with work permits in the future — whereby a Bermudian identified as trainable and a candidate for an apprenticeship programme will be trained up by a company in exchange for it also having a work permit granted.

The idea being that when the work permit expires the ex-pat leaves and the Bermudian apprentice will have been sufficiently trained and experienced to take on the role.

Dr. Brown also addressed the challenges of retailers in Bermuda. He said retailers must play their part by being open for business and said there had been a “regrettable incident” at the start of the cruise ship season when a one-day visiting ship with more than 2,000 passengers arrived at Dockyard and passengers took 5.30 p.m. buses to Hamilton only to find all but one of the shops closed.

The Premier said the increasing trend of Bermuda residents to go overseas to shop and for visitors to spend less here was a “clarion call” for retailers to improve their shops and the service they give.

“I will be assessing what we in Government can do to assist in this, but retailers must come to the table open to new ideas,” he said.

“Let us work together to make the buzz that surrounds hotel development in Bermuda extend to another form of pride in tourism — retail.”

Asked by the Royal Gazette if Government would give assistance or incentives to retailers who open their doors later, he said it would be for retailers to organise themselves and bring an arguable case to Government for such a policy to be considered.

Afterwards Kristi Grayson, co-chair of the chamber’s retail division, said it was hoped that retailers in Front Street, Queen Street and Reid Street would open later, up to eight or nine in the evening, during the months of June, July and August.

“We went to the Premier last year and he told us what he was eager to see and we said we would be eager to give it a try. There are people for and against it,” she said.

However, some retailers face a challenge in getting staff to work the extra hours she said, adding: “This year we are doing it ourselves first and then we will ask Government for support once we have shown that we are prepared to take the initiative.”