Introducing the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality Amendment Act 2005 to the House on Friday, Minister of Community Affairs and Sport, Dale Butler said the purpose of the amendment was to "promote equality between the races".

The Act transfers the data collection tasks of CURE to the Department of Statistics.

"The most significant amendment is the transfer of the Review of the Workforce data from CURE to the Department of Statistics," Mr. Butler said.

Benefits of the amendment include more accurate data and avoiding duplication between Government departments.

It would reduce the burden on employers because only one form will have to be written, he said.

And Government will continue to handle the sensitive information of the Island's employers.

The quorum of CURE, or the minimum number of Commission members that must be present in order to constitute a valid meeting, has been reduced to "50 percent plus one" he said.

He said the amendment was a housekeeping activity.

However, Shadow Minister of Race Relations and Economic Empowerment Davod Dodwell countered with the argument that if Government truly valued racial equality, it would not have tabled and debated the legislation in just two weeks.

"If they give credence to this bill, they would give us the opportunity for a reasonable time to discuss it," he said.

Mr. Dodwell asked if there was an issue with the attendance at Committee Meetings and how many they had a year.

"Is the data being put to good use?" he asked.

Opposition MP Neville Darrell asked what would happen to the expensive software CURE purchased to post their data online, now that Statistics was taking over.

CURE had been collecting highly sensitive information, he said, and he asked if it was being adequately protected.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said Government adopted a racial approach in its election campaign in 2003 because the PLP wanted to "influence racial bias".

A Government Minister even said there was a "back to the plantation mentality" on the Island.

However, Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown, who had a 'Pop By' flag by his side in the House, said he made that statement and it was "fair game".

"At one time plantations were part of our history," Dr. Brown said. "If the Opposition are upset that is another issue. It is a point of fact."

Mr. Butler said it was not just the Commission meetings which were suffering from low attendance.

"PTAs and clubs around the Island are struggling as well," he said. "At present if six dedicated people show up they can't have a meeting. It is a waste of time."

He said previously it was up to employers to contact CURE and register, but now the Department of Statistics would gathering the names of employers from the list of companies at the Department of Social Insurance.

"The data is put to very good use," Mr. Butler insisted. "There is a serious racial divide in Bermuda."

He said in the past it was just spoken about that only managers were white and workers at the bottom of the ladder were black.

"Now we have the statistics we can go in there and tell them they are not representative."

He said there were 11 meetings of the Commission every year and eight to ten subcommittee meetings.

The software programme had some problems he conceded, however, it would be used again when it was put online by the Department of Statistics.

"CURE determined the data would be more meaningful if it was further broken down into Bermudian and Non-Bermudian status, gender and nationality," he said.

Mr. Dodwell said "Bermuda works better when we work together".

"Our feeling is that we have not seen enough in the last seven years, even Renee Webb said not enough has been done in some areas," he said.

Mr. Dodwell said racial equality was about giving people the same access to capital.

Despite the best efforts of the Department of Statistics, he said there was still one-third of the working population who had not been surveyed.

"We have no idea what their stats are," he said. "I urge Government to focus on small business. People have the minds and wills to get this done but they don't have the capital."

But when he said he did not believe in mandatory retirement, Dr. Brown retorted that he had the "oldest skycaps on the Island".

Mr. Dodwell said the Opposition had spoken in the past about economic empowerment zones, which would for example assist Southside or north Hamilton in increasing business growth.

"I support the initiatives of CURE," he said. "But you can't solve the race problem with legislation."

Government backbencher Derrick Burgess said race relations were improving in Bermuda.

"But as far as the economic imparity, the 2003 statistics show whites still hold the wealth," he said. "The income difference is widening."

He also pointed out there was an increase in mixed race couples.

And there was a group he called the "new whites" who said the injustices of the past had nothing to do with them.

The Opposition wants Government to pay for the past, in the form of subsidies or giving 20 percent of the budget to small business, yet he said the majority of taxpayers were black.

"Has the life of blacks improved? Yes. As the lives of whites improved. You can't leave the servants behind that far. It's the facts. They get offended by the facts. You have got to face history," he said.

He said the only way for things to improve in this country is for "whites to make some bold moves".

"If ten prominent whites joined the PLP, things would change," he said.

But Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons took offence at Mr. Burgess' "distrust, divisiveness and polarisation".

"The black members of the UBP are denigrated and accused of being suntanned," he said. "We are all free to choose our own political philosophy."

He said he was known as "the poster-boy of white privilege" but he "deeply regretted and recognise the injustices of the past".

"White members of the community are fearful and embarrassed. Black members of the community feels anger and pain and frustration about the past," he said.

There once was hope that a Code of Principles like there is in the UK could be ratified in Bermuda, but he said it did not make much progress.

A memorial to the victims of slavery would also heal wounds, he said.

Seventy percent of black employees have non-professional jobs, he said, while 68 percent of whites have executive jobs.

And of the employees who earn $75,000 a year, seven out of ten of them are white.

Education was an important issue, he said, as since 2000 1,500 non-Bermudians had found jobs here.

Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott said since 1953, the UBP had been unable to grasp the concept of economic parity for blacks.

"You said it and skimmed past it," he shouted.

In 1953, Henry Tucker recognised they had to have blacks in the civil service, he said.

"As the economy expands young blacks will continue to be marginalised," he said. "I'm not interested in having cocktails with you, I am interested in my children and my grandchildren having the same opportunities."

After the considerable civic disturbances in 1977 Lord Pitt said the Island needed training and education modules, Mr. Scott said, yet these calls were ignored.

"We need racial equality? B******s! We don't need racial equality, we need economic equality," he shouted.

Opposition MP Suzann Roberts-Holshouser said in the 1600s indentured slaves were made up of black, white and Indian races.

"When the British company released the Indian slaves many of them, especially the women had already died," she said.

And she said the fact that white workers earn 22 percent more than black workers was appalling.

"It's appalling and we should be ashamed of ourselves," she said. "I would like to be on the side of any group who would like to see this stop."

Black female single parents often found it a struggle to survive. "There should be equal pay for equal work done," she said. "Whether your male, female, white or black."

Eleven percent of all homes in Bermuda are run by single parents, she said. And 88 percent of these homes are run by women. So the majority of people suffering for not being equal are black women, she said.

Opposition MP Neville Darrell said Dale Butler and he had had discussions about levelling the uneven economic playing field years ago, so it could not be said the topic had never been discussed.

"Inequality is a structural design," he said. "There are structures and processes in place that routinely create this outcome."

And he challenged Government and the Opposition when he said perhaps they were the men and women to put an end to racial economic inequality.

At this, Government MP George Scott chirped: "Look to the Human Resource Department. It's in the report."

MP without portfolio Walter Lister, said racism was demonstrated by the fact that whites who decide to join the PLP receive pressure from Bermuda's white business community for their political convictions.

"We have an open door policy as a party but we can't integrate ourselves," he said. Mr. Lister said young people in Bermuda have to be educated about race issues to become more aware of issues of discrimination which may take place on the job.

He also said the Opposition was part of the system of institutionalised racism by criticising black owned companies, such as the company which took on the Berkeley school project, and striking them down.

"That Opposition never once criticised white companies doing business," he said.

Mr. Dodwell said "Bermuda works better when we work together".

"Our feeling is that we have not seen enough in the last seven years, even Renee Webb said not enough has been done in some areas," he said.

Mr. Dodwell said racial equality was about giving people the same access to capital.

Despite the best efforts of the Department of Statistics, he said there was still one-third of the working population who had not been surveyed.

"We have no idea what their stats are," he said. "I urge Government to focus on small business. People have the minds and wills to get this done but they don't have the capital."

But when he said he did not believe in mandatory retirement, Dr. Brown retorted that he had the "oldest skycaps on the Island".

Mr. Dodwell said the Opposition had spoken in the past about economic empowerment zones, which would for example assist Southside or north Hamilton in increasing business growth.

"I support the initiatives of CURE," he said. "But you can't solve the race problem with legislation."

Government backbencher Derrick Burgess said race relations were improving in Bermuda.

"But as far as the economic imparity, the 2003 statistics show whites still hold the wealth," he said. "The income difference is widening."

He also pointed out there was an increase in mixed race couples.

And there was a group he called the "new whites" who said the injustices of the past had nothing to do with them.

The Opposition want Government to pay for the past, in the form of subsidies or giving 20 percent of the budget to small business, yet he said the majority of taxpayers were black.

"Has the life of blacks improved? Yes. As the lives of whites improved. You can't leave the servants behind that far. It's the facts. They get offended by the facts. You have got to face history," he said.

He said the only way for things to improve in this country is for "whites to make some bold moves".

"If ten prominent whites joined the PLP, things would change," he said.

But Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons took offence at Mr. Burgess' "distrust, divisiveness and polarisation".

"The black members of the UBP are denigrated and accused of being suntanned," he said. "We are all free to choose our own political philosophy."

He said he was known as "the poster-boy of white privilege" but he "deeply regretted and recognise the injustices of the past".

"White members of the community are fearful and embarrassed. Black members of the community feels anger and pain and frustration about the past," he said.

There once was hope that a Code of Principles like there is in the UK could be ratified in Bermuda, but he said it did not make much progress.

A memorial to the victims of slavery would also heal wounds, he said.

Seventy percent of black employees have non-professional jobs, he said, while 68 percent of whites have executive jobs.

And of the employees who earn $75,000 a year, seven out of ten of them are white.

Education was an important issue, he said, as since 2000 1,500 non-Bermudians had found jobs here.

Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott said since 1953, the UBP had been unable to grasp the concept of economic parity for blacks.

"You said it and skimmed past it," he shouted.

In 1953, Henry Tucker recognised they had to have blacks in the civil service, he said.

"As the economy expands young blacks will continue to be marginalised," he said. "I'm not interested in having cocktails with you, I am interested in my children and my grandchildren having the same opportunities."

After the considerable civic disturbances in 1977 Lord Pitt said the Island needed training and education modules, Mr. Scott said, yet these calls were ignored.

"We need racial equality? B******s! We don't need racial equality, we need economic equality," he shouted.

Opposition MP Suzann Roberts-Holshouser said in the 1600s indentured slaves were made up of black, white and Indian races.

"When the British company released the Indian slaves many of them, especially the women had already died," she said.

And she said the fact that white workers earn 22 percent more than black workers was appalling.

"It's appalling and we should be ashamed of ourselves," she said. "I would like to be on the side of any group who would like to see this stop."

Black female single parents often found it a struggle to survive.

"There should be equal pay for equal work done," she said. "Whether your male, female, white or black."

Eleven percent of all homes in Bermuda are run by single parents, she said. And 88 percent of these homes are run by women. So the majority of people suffering for not being equal are black women, she said.

Opposition MP Neville Darrell said Dale Butler and he had had discussions about levelling the uneven economic playing field years ago, so it could not be said the topic had never been discussed.

"Inequality is a structural design," he said. "There are structures and processes in place that routinely create this outcome."

And he challenged Government and the Opposition when he said perhaps they were the men and women to put an end to racial economic inequality.

At this, Government MP George Scott chirped: "Look to the Human Resource Department. It's in the report."

MP without portfolio Walter Lister, said racism was demonstrated by the fact that whites who decide to join the PLP receive pressure from Bermuda's white business community for their political convictions.

"We have an open door policy as a party but we can't integrate ourselves," he said.

Mr. Lister said young people in Bermuda have to be educated about race issues to become more aware of issues of discrimination which may take place on the job.

He also said the Opposition was part of the system of institutionalised racism by criticising black owned companies, such as the company which took on the Berkeley school project, and striking them down.

"That Opposition never once criticised white companies doing business," he said.