The Free Democratic Movement has accused the Government of “mixed messaging” on Bermuda pursuing full Caricom membership.

The party said “confusion” had surrounded recent comments by Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs, on immigration and labour policy and the benefits of membership of the regional trading bloc.

Ms Lightbourne said deeper ties with Caribbean countries could help alleviate skill shortages in Bermuda — without the risk of open borders, during an interview on the Government’s Leaders on the Record podcast.

She said the island should “lean into” the opportunity to draw from a labour market with workers fluent in English and with an understanding of the local culture and economy.

The minister was asked whether full membership of the Caribbean Community — of which Bermuda has been an associate member since 2003 — would mean unlimited immigration or free movement of people to the island.

She said Bermuda had told Caricom the island did not intend to have open borders.

She added: “The free movement is a pillar of the Caricom free-market and single-market economy and that’s what most people will look at. But it is also important to note that though that is an initiative under Caricom, not every island, not every member state, has currently signed up to it.”

Ms Lightbourne said that while the umbrella organisation advanced the free movement principle, it appreciated not all members would be able to apply it in the same way.

The FDM said at a recent town hall event that Bermudians were also told that the island would not be taking part in any of the Caricom Single Market and Economy regimes.

Quinton Sherlock Jr, the party’s deputy leader, said: “That is the duality that concerns us: the Government is quick to say Bermuda will not take on the burdens or obligations of CSME but in the next breath wants to speak about accessing the benefits of that wider regional marketplace.

“It appears to be an attempt to appease everyone, while explaining very little.

“People are left asking a very simple question: what exactly is the Government’s position?”

Mr Sherlock also accused the Government of mixed messaging after recent work permit changes.

In April, the immigration department announced a lowering of minimum pass rates for work-permit applicants taking certain required English proficiency tests after business leaders told The Royal Gazette that the assessments were hampering their ability to hire overseas staff in response to labour shortages.

Mr Sherlock said: “Employers were previously incentivised to recruit from English-speaking Caribbean countries because workers from Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize and the Bahamas did not have to meet the same English proficiency requirements.”

Instead of building on that Caribbean pathway, he said the Government had now reduced English-language requirements “more broadly, making it easier to recruit from the rest of the world”.

He added: “That may suit employers who wanted more flexibility but it undermines the argument that this is a serious Caricom labour strategy.

“This is exactly the concern we raised in our Caricom Green Paper response. The issue is that many people simply do not trust the Government’s true intentions or its ability to clearly communicate them.”