While the Opposition UBP took pains to say they did not support the overtime provision of the Employment Amendment Act 2004, Opposition leader Grant Gibbons said they did support the other issues dealt with in the act.

During a lengthy debate of the act last night, Shadow Labour Minister Maxwell Burgess questioned when the bill would become law, noting that was a crucial point as it relates to employee contracts.

He also called for a ?higher test? regarding any flexibility or exemptions to the law. Small businesses who may appeal for an exemption need an independent authority to appeal too, he said, calling for the three major stakeholders involved ? employers, employees and Government ? to form a tribunal.

For the bill to succeed Government will need to go back to stakeholders opposing the bill ?on Monday? to get them on board, he said. ?Failure to do so will undermine this.?

The amendment will ensure that all workers ? even those at The Royal Gazette ? will get the overtime payment they deserve, Government backbencher Derrick Burgess declared.

?That will get you a headline tomorrow,? Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe chuckled. ?I hope so,? Mr. Burgess replied, adding: ?That should not be thrown on the backs of anybody.?

Though voicing his disappointment in the Trade Union Council (TUC) for opposing the amendment, Mr. Burgess added: ?I forgive them ? they know not what they do.?

In the US, Mr. Burgess observed, President George W. Bush ended time-and-a-half overtime pay because some employers were circumventing the clause by creating a slew of managerial positions ? allowing them to increase salaries but avoiding the necessity of paying overtime.

In Bermuda, locals are in competition with foreign workers, who are willing to do the menial jobs (such as dishwashing) that Bermudians decline, and can work for longer hours (without families in the country). ?You cannot blame Government all the time, we must be held at fault also,? he said.

He commended Mr. Horton for doing a ?first-class job? of protecting workers from exploitation and finished by saying: ?I may even make him an honorary member of the BIU (Bermuda Industrial Union).?

Government backbencher George Scott voiced concerns about policing the legislation, noting that there are employers in some areas who do not not even comply with the existing Employment Act 2000.

He pointed to legislation in countries such as Barbados and Gibraltar, where a tribunal is given powers of inspection of employers in order to help enforce the legislation.

Shadow Race Relations and Economic Empowerment Minister David Dodwell also voiced concerns about enforcing the legislation, noting that Mr. Horton had declared no one would be hired by the Ministry to do so. ?I don?t know if we can rely on employers,? he said.

Mr. Dodwell also pointed out that with the increase in overtime pay there will come a point where it becomes more effective for an employer to simply hire an entirely new worker, to pay at straight pay for 40 hours, than to continue to pay already existing workers overtime.

He questioned where such new workers could be found, suggesting that in a country with over-employment they would have to be brought in from overseas.

Businesses may be forced to cut costs in other areas also ? such as doing away with Christmas bonuses, he said. Smaller, struggling businesses who may have previously struck deals with employees willing to work without overtime would also be affected. ?Now they?re having to say, I have to pay you overtime, and I can?t do that.

?I worry we?re using a big stick to hit a fly,? he said.

Increased costs could be passed on elsewhere in the community, Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said.

Pointing to recent troubles within the Ministry of Works and Engineering resulting in garbage collectors refusing to work overtime, Ms Gordon-Pamplin wondered what would happen when the money runs out.

The private sector has the same responsibilities as Government to cut costs, she said.

Workers do not work overtime for fun, she added, but to pay bills. The possibility of employers hiring new workers in place of existing workers doing overtime was therefore a dangerous one, meaning the amendment could hinder the very people Government was trying to help.

Dr. Gibbonssaid ?structural rigidities? such as legislated overtime pay leading to increased costs would make it increasingly difficult for Bermuda to compete internationally.

Concluding the debate before putting the bill to committee, Mr. Horton said he agreed with Maxwell Burgess?s statement that a dialogue between stakeholders must be continued. ?That?s going to be important to ensure that other concerns raised by the other side don?t come to fruition,? he said.

The fact that some employers are non-compliant with the Employment Act 2000 should not be a deterrent in this case, he said.

As for flexibility and exemptions, the Minister would make those decisions after consultation with the Labour Advisory Council (LAC).

The cost of labour is not the only force behind increased costs, he said. Wages, however, have not increased at anywhere near the rate of other costs such as (for example) construction materials.

Referring to a comment by Finance Minister Paula Cox regarding the dignity of labour, Mr. Horton concluded by saying: ?That?s what this is about.?

The Opposition had many questions about the full extent of the act.

Ms Gordon Pamplin asked Mr. Horton to define what a ?professional or managerial? employee meant.

Dr. Gibbons asked whether it was overtime for an employee to do a day and night job for the same employer.

He also asked whether on-the-job training, which normally taking place after the 40 hour week, would be considered overtime.

UBP MP Wayne Furbert asked what would happen if a company with a staff of 40 ?decided to break up in little groups of under ten people, with a holding company on top.?

Minister Horton said the ?Employment Tribunal will make the determination? about who professionals were.

In response to Dr. Gibbon?s question, he said ?a different job is a different job?.

On skills-training: ?Employers who train their staff are good and are not companies we need to worry about. I feel strongly on that.?

In response to Mr. Furbert?s questions, he said: ?We will be keeping a close eye on that?.

However, Ms Gordon Pamplin said: ?We on this side do not support section four (regarding mandatory overtime) as it is not thought through and there are so many loopholes.?

Although the entire Opposition voted against the overtime clause, the bill was made law.

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More coverage of the final session of Parliament for 2004 will follow in Monday?s newspaper.