Bermuda's six-year work permit term policy can be altered if it starts to cause a problem for domestic and international companies, but there is no evidence at present that it needs to be changed.

That was Labour and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess' message to the business community as he responded to a story in the Royal Gazette two weeks ago in which David Ezekiel, chairman of the Association of Bermuda International Companies, warned of unforeseen consequences of the policy that would impact Bermudian jobs.

Mr. Ezekiel said his own company, International Advisory Services, which is the largest captive management firm in Bermuda, was already looking at outsourcing jobs overseas that were previously done by ex-pats because of difficulties caused by having to find new staff when an ex-pat's work permit expired.

"We are not the only ones. Everyone is," said Mr. Ezekiel.

He said a consequence would be that as work permit jobs relocate overseas so would administrative, cashier and processing jobs normally done by Bermudians, because of economics.

"Industry jobs that would be filled by locals will be exported in the future," he warned.

But Mr. Burgess said yesterday he had seen no evidence of this and had heard nothing from companies or individuals to substantiate what the ABIC chairman claimed. Mr. Burgess also said that he and Mr. Ezekiel have not been in contact since the story was published on August 9, but that if Mr. Ezekiel had some genuine concerns he would have expected him to call.

He said: "This policy has not caused anyone any problems. If you manage it right you will succeed. No-one who has come to the Ministry for extensions has been denied. There is no way this Government will tell a company that if they can't find a Bermudian, but so-and-so has to go, that's not common sense."

Mr. Ezekiel said his company was looking to outsource, but Mr. Burgess responded: "No evidence is provided to support this claim."

He went on: "Just last week I met with the heads of two reinsurance companies based in Bermuda. They shared with me the tremendous successes that they have enjoyed since setting up shop in Bermuda, one making the observation that his company's growth in terms of employee numbers and revenue greatly exceeded expectations.

"Neither questioned the term limits policy, although they emphasised the need for quicker and more efficient processing of work permits."

The Labour Minister said the delays in work permits being processed was being sorted out.

"We have made ourselves available, we have told companies and the head of ABIC, if you are experiencing any undue delay call me directly, call the permanent secretary directly. We won't allow a company to have a person on standby, and they may lose them because of us not processing the work permit fast enough. We realise we have some problems with efficiency and we are working on that."

He added: "No one has been penalised because of the delay. We have made the necessary ad Because you did not get your exemptions or your waiver say by June and your seven years is up in July, we are not saying that you've got to go. We have made the allowances for that."

Mr. Burgess said Government had worked with the business community to identify "key persons" within organisations that would qualify for exemptions to the term limits, and these went beyond chief executive officers and other senior managers.

"They can be technical, professional, clerical or service as well as managerial staff. It is up to the employer to make the case to the Minister," he said.

"The work permit limits regime is policy, not law. Therefore, the Government is able to modify the policy as required in order to ensure there is no negative outcomes for any principal segment of the community."

Mr. Burgess said it was accepted that, on occasion, some businesses would decide to outsource beyond Bermuda's shores, but he added: "It is our submission that decisions to outsource to locations outside of Bermuda - on the rare occasions that they occur - are based upon fiscal prudence and the wish for improved organisational and operational efficiency, not Government's work permit term limits policy."

Asked about apparent anecdotal evidence of companies outsourcing as a result of term limit difficulties, the Labour Minister said he had no evidence and therefore no reason to investigate such claims.

Mr. Ezekiel was in the UK this week. A representative of ABIC said the organisation, which represents more than 400 international businesses with a physical presence in Bermuda, would be considering Mr. Burgess' statement and expected to make a reply next week.