LAST week I addressed the immigration woes faced by America and the reaction of its people and politicians to the prospect of tides of millions of undocumented immigrants (or so-called illegal migrants) continuing to wash over the US borders.

The subject matter could not help but make me think of Bermuda's somewhat parallel situation. As a 20-square-mile island, of course we do not face anything even remotely approaching the scale of the problem the US is contending with.

Our legal immigrant population numbers in the thousands, not the millions; the ones here illegally probably number in the low hundreds. Nevertheless, there appear to be increasing signs that the longstanding tolerance of Bermudians to the presence of non-Bermudian workers may finally be wearing thin.

In order to end the problem of the so-called "long-term residents", guest workers who had been here for so long they developed the expectation they would eventually gain Bermuda status, the Progressive Labour Party Government has brought in sensible policies to restrict the length of time a non-Bermudian can expect to have a work permit in this country.

The term is a period of six years. Upon the expiry of this period, the employers of such guest workers can apply to the Government for special extensions if it is considered that the loss of particularly skilled non-Bermudian employees would cause genuine problems for the continuing operations of their businesses.

As the time approaches for this policy to take full effect, we have heard increased concerns on the part of certain employers (most of them in the financial services sector) warning about the potentially dire impact of this policy on their businesses.

Not too long ago the Bermuda immigration authorities had to take firm action in response to clear violations of immigration and work permit policies with respect to foreign workers. For instance, a number of steel erectors were caught red-handed working on a job site when Bermudian steel workers were unemployed.

As a result of complaints, these workers were arrested and deported, or so it was stated in the media. But suspicions persist that this incidence was, in fact, just the tip of the iceberg, that in fact Bermuda has its own problem ? a growing problem.

It is believed there are an increasing number of workers here illegally, brought in by unscrupulous Bermudian employers bound and determined to get around the island's immigration policies ? policies that are in place to protect the employment rights of Bermudians in their own country.

This was certainly the case as regards the steel workers caught working illegally in this country. This incident was particularly galling to many Bermudians because this case involved Canadians. While Bermuda has longstanding and good relations with Canada, in recent times it seems that Canadian businesses have absorbed a number of areas of the Bermudian economy ? so much so that some are wondering out loud if, in fact, Bermuda has been colonised economically by the Canadians.

And, of course, there have long been complaints and concerns voiced by Bermudians as to the employment policies of these Canadian business concerns, complaints about them bringing their own people in and ignoring the interests of Bermudians.

There is another aspect to this growing perception that Bermuda has its own problem with illegal workers and the impact they are having on Bermudian workers. As I have stated, often Bermudians are in cahoots with outside economic interests, whether they're foreign firms that have bought up formerly locally-owned retail operations, so-called foreign experts brought in to solve problems that, if we had more confidence in our own abilities, we could solve ourselves, to those very large multinational interests which want to shape Bermuda to suit their economic interests (regardless of whether this is really in our interests as a country).

There is such a thing as the unwritten "social contract" in any community ? a tacit agreement between the rulers and the ruled as to what is and is not acceptable on both sides. And, frankly, it's time for the social contract in this country to be dusted off, amended and ? in general terms ? brought up to date to deal with the new social circumstances of the new economy that has come into existence here in recent years.

A social contract is broader, in my opinion, than the term "social agenda" currently being bandied about by the Government.

What should the social contract represent in the Bermudian context? Primarily, it should be a common agreement between all of the people and various stakeholders in this society as to how they would like to see Bermuda evolve.

It should centre around the interests of the people and emphasise the fact Bermudians should be first in line for any employment opportunities. It should also underscore the fact that the indispensable underpinnings of this society should be a first-rate education system, top-quality medical care and adequate and affordable housing. For without all of these this society will be unable to maintain the general level of well-being we have now.

When we accept the idea of a social contract then we all agree to hold our country together. Now Bermudians are already under a lot of pressure with respect to housing. Public education is failing our young people. And the growing perception that we are now losing employment rights in our country could well be the proverbial last straw.

It's interesting that in the recent demonstrations in the United States revolving around the issue of undocumented working, one core element of American society was conspicuous by its absence from these protests.

I AM speaking of the trade union movement in America and its affiliated organisations. On a certain level there is a great deal of sympathy for the undocumented workers, but on another level there is great concern on the part of the American worker about the driving down of wages that comes along with the presence of these illegal workers.

That is also a concern in Bermuda. It was quite striking to see on the nightly news programmes the handcuffing and jailing of illegal workers and threats that the law will now take a hard line with employers who hire them. Bermuda has not yet reached that point.

By and large, we do remain very tolerant of the foreign workers who come to our country. In fact, we may be the most tolerant country in the world in that respect. I can just imagine that the streets in many countries would be aflame if their societies hosted the level of foreign employers that we do; some 30 per cent of the overall workforce.

However, as I stated in the beginning every rope has its end and I pose the question ? has Bermuda reached the end of its rope in regard to safeguarding the employment rights of Bermudians in their own country?