Progressive Labour Party MP Jamahl Simmons has welcomed Government's plans to force companies to improve the lot of black Bermudian employees after claiming international business preferred whites.

The Workforce Equity Act 2007 will give the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) powers to fine companies up to $50,000 if they block the progress of the Island's largest racial group.

Firms of 40 or more employees will be forced to set up policies to ensure black Bermudians achieve "a degree of representation in each occupational group in the employers' workforce that reflects their representation in the Bermuda labour force".

So far the United Bermuda Party has declined to comment on the CURE bill. But Mr. Simmons said: "I have been calling for it for years. It is timely. I would like to see more of the details but the principles are sound.

"A lot of things have been left to goodwill for too long and it hasn't worked — some employers need a little bit more motivation."

He said Bermuda was decades behind the world in getting employers to be fair and equitable with hiring and promotion.

"These are things that they had in other jurisdictions 20 and 30 years ago. That is why there is so much resistance. If you have been able to go about as business as usual when the rest of the world was moving ahead then it will be uncomfortable."

"It's all about fairness. If Bermudians are being denied an opportunity and an employer has to get a kick in the pants to make sure a qualified Bermudian gets a job then so be it."

Asked if the act would be divisive he said: "I think people being denied an opportunity is divisive. That is divisive now. The division is there — it has been silent for a long time."

He said Bermudians were complaining about having to train people to be their boss.

Asked if white Bermudians would be now looking over their shoulder Mr. Simmons said: "Whenever we get into this discussion we always have to talk about whether black Bermudians are qualified or not. That issue never comes up when we are dealing with white Bermudians or even guest workers.

"The issue we are really looking at is people given the chance to advance in their own country."

He said census 2000 data showed a white person with a high school diploma had a better chance of making more money than a black person with a college degree. "These things make you look at little bit more at how the community really is."

Asked if it would demotivate white people who might believe their promotion hopes were doomed as Government sought to rectify workforce imbalance Mr. Simmons said: "It doesn't seemed to demotivate people anywhere else where it has been going on for the past decades.

"One thing we recognise is a qualified white person has a far better chance of landing on their feet than a qualified black person — that has been proven time and time again so I won't be shedding too many tears for them.

"What we are looking at from my perspective is not taking from John and giving to Tyrone, it is ensuring that John isn't being given a hand up above Tyrone. It is more about leveling inequity than taking from anybody else.

"That is where a lot of people get this very twisted. There are tremendous advantages to being white in Bermuda and being white in the world."

The States moved to such legislation in the late 1960s, said Mr. Simmons.

"We are the economic minority here even though we are the numerical majority."

Employers have challenged Government to reveal the figures showing the education levels of black employees instead of just releasing statistics showing blacks were earning less and held fewer top posts.

But Mr. Simmons said education was not the issue. "Let's put it this way, you don't have uneducated people applying for jobs in these companies. Come on. That's a specious argument. When I look at Bermudians in international business how many of them are not qualified to be there?

"They are painting the picture that it is going to be any old fool walking off the street and applying for a job but it's about qualified people who are simply not getting the same shot as the others are. That's what I am looking at.

"If the person is good enough to be let in the door in the first place? Obviously they are hiring Bermudians all the time, they don't seem to have a problem with their educational level."

Yesterday, Premier Ewart Brown, Deputy Premier Paula Cox and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess called a press conference to share their thoughts on Bermuda's "workforce development plan", loosely described as a number of initiatives to deal with employment issues.

The Premier said these included reforming the education system as well as projects such as Goodwill Plus, which will force companies to train Bermudians in order to get work permits for foreigners.

Mr. Burgess reiterated his stance that strict new work permit regulations were not an attempt to "get rid of anybody".

"When you look at the working population, aged 20 to 44, in that group 50 percent is foreign. That poses a great problem because only 50 percent is Bermudian," he said.

See today's business section for the Premier's reaction to claims senior executives are reconsidering their exit strategies amid concerns over the Island's political climate and work permit problems.

EMPLOYMENT STATS (from Department of Statistics)

39,686 – The total workforce number

18,758 – The number of black Bermudians in the workforce

6,467 – The number of white Bermudians in that workforce

9,813 – The number of non-Bermudians in the workforce

5,992 – The number of white non-Bermudians in the workforce

OTHER STATS (supplied by CURE)

Black employees, in the 2006 surveyed workforce, represented 53 percent, white employees represented 34 percent and mixed and all other races, 13 percent.

When race and status are considered, in 2006, white Bermudians held the majority of executive positions at 32% (33% in 2005) while white non-Bermudians and black Bermudians represented 25% each.

With regard to gross annual incomes, race and status, black Bermudians were the majority earners of $24,000 or less when compared to all other races and statuses.

At 56% (58% in 2005), black Bermudians encompassed the majority of this group.

At 42% (41% in 2005), the white non-Bermudian comprised the largest percentage of the $96,000 or more group.