It can no longer be "business as usual'' in Bermuda, the chairman of the Premier's Task Force on Employment said yesterday.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Bermuda Employers' Council, Mr.

David Lines said the state of the economy and international competition would dictate major changes in labour relations.

"We are in a price and quality war such as we have never known before,'' Mr.

Lines said.

After 30 years of nearly full employment, about 1,000 of Bermuda's 34,000 workers were now jobless, he said.

Tourism, international investment, and relations between employers and workers were all inter-related. If Bermudians didn't improve co-operation and communication, unemployment would increase further and "our overall standard of living will decrease.'' "Meanwhile ... international company business could be affected, by less available air flights to Bermuda caused by reduced demand for tourists and comments on our labour relations,'' Mr. Lines said.

The task force, set up by Government last May and expected to make a preliminary report in February, will recommend a plan to ensure Bermudians and Bermuda continue to prosper, he said.

Through more than a dozen sub-committees, about 65 people from a wide range of business, labour, and political interests are involved.

The report is still being prepared, but "we are certainly going to put a lot of emphasis on human relations,'' said Mr. Lines.

For example, the task force is examining "workplace committees'' to put employers and employees in regular communication about their plans and concerns, regardless of whether the employees are unionised.

"At the very least, it's going to be advocated in the report,'' he said of the workplace committee.

"It's the government's decision whether it's legislated or not, but the committee itself has not decided which course to recommend.'' Aside from labour relations, Mr. Lines called for liberal immigration policies to increase the number of international companies with a presence in Bermuda.

"There was a time when we thought that we had to be careful about the number of foreign workers we had here,'' Mr. Lines said.

But the number of foreign workers has dropped by close to 4,000 in the last several years, resulting in vacant rental properties and less money generally, he said.

Now, Bermuda should push for more immigrants "to say we would welcome more businesses,'' he said.