Companies are waiting to see if the new CURE regulations will improve race relations in the workplace, Bermuda Employers Council (BEC) executive director Malcolm Dixon said yesterday.

The laws requiring a detailed breakdown of the racial make-up of every company with more than 10 employees were passed in July despite opposition from an alliance of business groups.

The employers' lobby failed to persuade Government to drop form four of the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality reporting rules -- requiring details on hirings, firings and promotions -- which it argued should only apply to companies where there is a clear racial imbalance in the workplace.

BEC and other business groups said at the time they felt form four was too bureaucratic.

Mr. Dixon told a Hamilton Rotary Club lunch at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club yesterday that employers did not know if CURE would improve race relations in the workplace.

When asked if he supported the CURE regulations, he said: "I have reservations. BEC for several years has fully supported the CURE code of conduct for equal opportunity in the workplace.

"We were the body that assisted and wrote the employers' section of the code and fully support that and continue to do so. It's nothing more than good employment practice.

"As far as the regulations go, we'll have to see if the information generated will have any effect in improving race relations.'' Mr. Dixon told the meeting that Bermuda cannot be complacent and think that changes in the global business environment do not effect the Island.

He said: "Invariably people do not like change. Change can be threatening.

"The avalanche of change has become a way of life for employers, Government, trade unions and employees. The change we are seeing is, of course, the well hackneyed phrase known as global change.

"The boundaries of a country are being blurred. Global change has heightened competition.''