The Bermuda Employers' Council (BEC) is anticipating its biggest ever annual general meeting (AGM) next week.

The event, which will combine the BEC's 50th anniversary celebrations and the launch of the Bermuda Business Hall of Fame and Malcolm Dixon Scholarship, will be held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on Wednesday, December 1.

The Hall of Fame will feature four Laureate inductees, one from each decade from 1960 to 1999, selected by a panel of judges from a shortlist of at least six per decade with the advice of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Bermuda Hotel Association and the Association of Bermuda International Companies. The winners will have a plaque bearing their name in City Hall. The AGM, which was postponed from September due to Hurricane Igor, will also include a presentation by Brent Wilson, deputy general secretary of the International Organisation of Employers based in Geneva, on the value to national economies of sustaining and maintaining employment and governments' role in that process.

"It will probably be the biggest AGM numerically that we have had in many years," said Martin Law, executive director of the BEC, who is expecting a turnout of 350.

"We are doing a lot — it is more than it would normally be. But it is an opportunity for us to get out in the public and business domain and we intend to do that.

"We also feel it is very topical to bring in a speaker to talk about the subject of the need and value of employment, in that we are seeing redundancies happening and they are not diminishing." Premier Paula Cox and three Cabinet ministers will be in attendance at the event, as well as members from the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Bermuda Public Services Union.

Mr. Law said that the BEC plans talks with the new administration as it strives to create a conducive environment for economic development and sustainability in the interest of its members, particularly new ministers Kim Wilson on the economy, work permits and labour, and Patrice Minors from the international business and tourism perspective.

"We will work with the new ministers and permanent secretaries and explain the role of employers' organisations and help them to understand how life works in the business community in Bermuda," he said.

"I got on well with David Burch, the former Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing, and found the working relationship with him to be a good one. He could be a bit prickly, but he was always a good listener and could be persuaded with a good argument.

"The new ministers appear to be open and receptive because that is what we need. We are living in hard times and the economy is not in good shape — we are seeing a shrinkage in employment and in the economy, so all this paints a picture that is not rosy and we have to accept what the reality is and deal with it." The BEC plans to make the Hall of Fame induction an annual event, inviting nominations from the public and businesses, with each nominee being available for consideration for a period of up to three years.

Anyone interested in attending the event can fax 295-1966 or email twarner@bec.bm